


Captive: Ghouls and Doves

by PurpleFlyingBird



Series: Captive: Ghouls and Doves [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Amon and Kaneki talk, Biting, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Cages, Cannibalism, Care of Magical Creatures, Chains, Collars, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Developing Friendships, Eyepatch, Gen, Ghouls, Kagune, Magic-Users, Male Friendship, Masks, Portkeys, Post-Time Skip/Pre-Anteiku Raid (Tokyo Ghoul), Quinque, Reveal, Shironeki | White-haired Kaneki, Triwizard Tournament
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 11:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14914133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleFlyingBird/pseuds/PurpleFlyingBird
Summary: An infamous ghoul, Eyepatch, is captured by the Japanese Ministry of Magic and transported to Hogwarts to be used in the final task of the Triwizard Tournament as well as the Care of Magical Creatures class. CCG Investigators Amon and Shinohara are dragged along against their will (read: kidnapped) to help handle the ghoul. Complete.(Also Cross-posted on Fanfiction.net under the same title and username.)





	1. Captured

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul or Harry Potter.
> 
> TG: Set Post-Cochlea raid and Pre-Anteiku raid.  
> HP: Set in Goblet of Fire.
> 
> “Today's enemies can be your friends tomorrow. And today's friends can be tomorrow's enemies.”  
> ― Suzy Kassem.

Shadows creeped along the walls of the dingy Tokyo alleyway cloaking Kaneki in its embrace as he loomed over his dead prey. His left eye’s blood red iris locked onto the fresh meat lying at his feet, slowly the half-ghoul raised a hand to the leather mask’s toothy grin so that he could pinch the zipper between two of his fingers. Kaneki unzipped it.

Crouching down, he grabbed the kagune of the dead ghoul, a bikaku tail, and viciously tore it from his prey’s body. It pulsed and twitched in his hand, still caught in its death throes long after the ghoul it belonged to had died. Kaneki bit into the squirming flesh and grimaced as the overly-bitter tang of a ghoul’s flesh hit his tongue.

It tasted like rotting fish that had been left to fester with maggots for a week in the sun.

_He swallowed it anyway._

_‘I want to be stronger to protect them. I need to do this,’_ Kaneki thought, repeating it in his head like a mantra as he ripped into the rest of his cannibalistic meal.

“So you must be the SS-Rated Ghoul that we’re looking for. Well…I wasn’t expecting to find you feasting on _that_. You’re quite the cannibal, _aren’t you_ Eyepatch?” The stranger’s voice from the alleyway entrance behind him was unexpected, Kaneki flinched violently, his uncovered kakugan eye glaring darkly at the intruder. A low animalistic growl instinctively rose up in his throat at the interruption as he bared his bloodied teeth. “I’m afraid you won’t be finishing that meal tonight…you’re coming with us.”

_Flesh. More flesh. He interrupted you. He’ll pay for that. Need to eat. Ghoul. Human. Ghoul. Human. Eat. FLESH._

Kaneki found it hard to think clearly, with each passing second, his mind was becoming more clouded by his kakuja nature as the ghoul’s flesh digested in his body.

The strange cloaked man raised an arm, in his hand a long stick was aimed in Kaneki’s direction. There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere around them, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to raise as a dense electrical scent pressed down on him.

_What is that heavy presence?_

_“Stupefy!”_ Yelled the robed man. At his words, a bright red light burst from the tip of the stick and sped towards the white-haired half-ghoul.

Kaneki sprang out the projectile’s pathway at the last second, his exposed kakugan observing the sizzling pavement where the light had struck it. _What was that? Some kind of new quinque?_

There was no time to ponder as the robed man sent a barrage of red lights at him with rapid flicks of his wrist. Kaneki dodged each one of them with relative ease, finishing his evasive manoeuvres with a backflip that landed him on a rooftop. Wasting no time, the half-ghoul darted off into the night, bounding from rooftop to rooftop as he made his escape. Spying a high skyscraper that would make a good hiding place until things calmed down, Kaneki sprang from the tiled rooves and onto the thin window ledges of the glass windows. He quickly scaled the building and settled down on the building’s roof.

 _There was no way that human could find him up here._ He sighed, his shoulders gradually relaxing and his kakugan deactivating as the adrenaline left his system. Far below him, the cars zipped along the road, their headlights flashing like fireflies among the stars of the city’s glow. Raising a hand, Kaneki wiped his mouth to remove the lingering foul taste of the ghoul from his bloodied lips.

A loud crack shattered the peaceful hum of the city, sending Kaneki whirling onto his feet to face the source of the sound. The robed man had returned, a cruel smirk twisting on his lips, he sneered: “You thought you could get away from me, _Ghoul?”_ Kaneki’s grey eye widened as he stared at the supposedly human man. “I can see the question all over your face, how did a mere human manage to get up _here_ so _quickly?_ Well…let me indulge you…I’m a _wizard_. Not a _muggle.”_

Several more cracks filled the city air like a box of firecrackers and a large group of robed figures materialised behind the self-proclaimed wizard. Feeling cornered, Kaneki took a step backwards only to feel the edge of the rooftop, his re-activated kakugan staring wildly at the new threat.

“Remember, just like a Hungarian Horntail, all together on three!” Commanded the wizard, their leader, as he raised his stick at the half-ghoul. Kaneki dropped into a battle stance, his rinkaku kagune readied in a position to strike. “One! Two…” Kaneki crouched lower, his body tense.

“Three!” Hundreds of red lights raced towards him like a blazing meteor shower and leaving no area of the rooftop safe. The half-ghoul sprang into the fray, twisting gracefully through the air as he passed through a gap between two projectiles. His feet grazed the ground briefly in a light step which he used to propel himself through the red missiles, zipping left and right in a blur.

An errant shot was fired from an incompetent lackey, catching Kaneki by surprise as it hit him square in the middle of his back. It burned briefly but otherwise it had no effect. “W-What?! Why didn’t it work?! It should be stunned by now!” Cried out one of the group’s members in panic.

“Ghouls are impervious to stunning spells like dragons. That’s why we are working together!” Snapped their leader. “Again! One! Two! Three!”

 _“Stupefy!”_ They roared in unison, a second wave of red exploded from their _~~sticks~~ _ wands. The spells were more closely packed together this time, leaving Kaneki no spaces for him to pass through.

He furled his four rinkaku limbs around his body defensively in a futile attempt to protect himself. A second passed before a hundred spells _slammed_ into Kaneki’s kagune with the force of rock-filled lorry. A crackle of magic zapped into him from where the spells had collided with his kagune, travelling into his back, up his spine and out into his four half-human limbs.

The world tilted around him as he slammed onto the unforgiving concrete, his vision engulfing in darkness as he was plunged into unconsciousness.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Ghoul investigators Amon and Shinohara collapsed wearily onto the restaurant’s bar stools. All day they had been run ragged by various missions to exterminate numerous B-rated ghouls that had been plaguing the ward.

They quickly ordered their food, eager to fill their growling stomachs after their long day of hard work.  A drink was poured and placed before Amon, who reached for it with a shaky hand. Just as his fingertips touched the glass’ cool surface, a voice piped up from beside him. “The usual, please.”

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Amon observed the stranger in his peripheral vision. He noted that the man wore a horrendously coloured shirt that clashed awfully with the blinding neon trousers. Whoever picked out his outfit must have done it with their eyes closed, either that or they just had an extremely unfortunate taste of fashion.

“Oh?” The man turned his head, having noticed Amon’s gaze, and made eye-contact with the investigator. “Do you work at the CCG? I remember seeing them wearing those coats.”

“Yes, we work there as investigators,” Amon politely replied, unsurprised at being recognised.

“Ah, yes, I see now. You must be the First Class Ghoul Investigator Amon Koutarou,” guessed the oddly dressed man, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Immediately, alarm bells began to ring in Amon’s mind at the suspicious behaviour of the man beside him.

“Excuse me, but I just remembered the pile of paperwork that needs to be completed before tomorrow. I’ve already been late once and they won’t be so lenient with me a second time,” lied Amon as he stood up and bowed. “Shinohara, if you would lend me your assistance?”

Amon watched as his friend’s expression shifted from one of confusion to one of understanding as he caught on with the situation. “Of course, Amon. You know me.” They began to walk towards the building’s exit but stopped when the stranger stepped in front of them, blocking them in.

The investigators quickly scanned their surroundings, noting the lack of customers due to the late time and the chef now slumped unconscious at the bar. Thankfully, they still had their briefcases with them, so they weren’t unarmed.

It was just the three of them, two ghoul investigators with their quinque and one supposedly defenceless man. The odds were in their favour.

“Let us pass,” Amon ordered, his voice stern.  

“I’m afraid I cannot. I’m just following orders,” the man answered, unconcerned by the warning he was given. Amon and Shinohara glared at him, both with a hand ready to open their briefcases at a moment’s notice. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’m not here to _kill_ you…”

Instantly, Amon’s instincts screamed at him to dodge, so he did and only moments later the dark room was flooded in a bright flash of red. A startled shout alerted him and he turned just in time to watch as Shinohara was hit by one of the red lights.

 _“No!”_ Amon roared as he watched Shinohara collapse onto the restaurant’s floor. A laugh sounded behind him followed by something striking his open back. He too had joined his friend upon the floor.

Amon blearily peaked through his eyelashes to see a pair of boots belonging to their attacker. “Now all that’s left is the sleeping spell…” The man’s words were followed by a lengthy pause and Amon struggled to try and see the cause of it.

 ** _“Our team has successfully captured a ghoul. There were no casualties. Send your report back immediately with a status update,”_** a second voice rang out, breaking the stifling silence. Amon’s straining eyes caught a soft blue blur glowing in the corner of his hazy vision.

 _“Expecto Patronum!”_ their enemy enunciated carefully. “I have succeeded in restraining two CCG investigators. I’ll transport them now.” Footsteps clacked on the empty building’s floor followed by the sound of shoes squeaking as someone was dragged along the floor. A hand fisting tightly into Amon’s coat was the only warning he received before it felt as though the world was squeezing him through a small tube. His stomach lurched and he couldn’t draw a single breath as the pressure increased around him.

_He passed out._


	2. Captives

Pain. That was the first thing Amon felt as he slowly regained consciousness. He could feel how stiff and sore his muscles were from hunting ghouls, it was a burning pain he knew well. Amon cracked open one eye, then the other and waited for them to adjust in what he observed to be an enclosed, dimly lit room. Groaning, he slowly sat up and scanned the room for any other occupants, his eyes locking onto the familiar form of Shinohara.

“Hey, it’s good to see that you’re awake,” greeted Shinohara, visibly relaxing from his relief.

“Where are we? The last thing I remember was…” Amon trailed off as his memories of their abduction returned. _“Where is he?!”_ He snarled, leaping onto his feet and swaying unsteadily.

“Amon…” Shinohara’s quiet voice cut through Amon’s anger, draining it instantly.

“What is it?” Amon asked tiredly.

“You should have a look at this,” his friend suggested. Raising an eyebrow at the vague reply, Amon approached the other investigator and followed his gaze.

Shrouded in the shadows was a metal cage with a figure slumped unconscious inside it. Amon peered closer trying to discern who or _what_ was in it, his eyes widening once he recognised it.

_Eyepatch!_

Shinohara nodded grimly, misinterpreting the spark of recognition in Amon’s as horror. “You see the creepy mask? _It’s a ghoul._ The cage is made of quinque steel so whoever went through the trouble to contain this ghoul must know that it is powerful.”

“ _Indeed,_ that ghoul _is_ powerful. Excellent deduction, Investigator.” Both humans spun around to watch as a black-robed man stepped out from the shadows.

“What do you want from us?” Amon snapped, anger boiling in his veins.

“Your job is to keep this ghoul _controlled_ and _contained._ That is all. The _ghoul_ is to be used in the third task of the Triwizard Tournament and while it is staying at Hogwarts, it is to be studied by the students under the care of their professor,” the man explained calmly.

“Why should we help you?” Questioned Shinohara. The robed man’s lips twitched into a smirk.

“Well…if you don’t wish to help us, that’s fine. You will have your memories of us wiped from your minds and we will send you on your way. _Unharmed_ and _oblivious_ to the magical community. Honestly, I’m unsure how the spell will affect your minds due to the magical nature of ghouls...” Amon and Shinohara both paled at the man’s explanation. He was insinuating that the spell would erase every memory involving ghouls, and as much as Amon would love to forget about those dark, nightmare-inducing memories of his past, he would rather be able to remember the good times and the people most important to him.

_Like Mado Kureo who lives in his memories now._

“Fine. We’ll help you,” Amon agreed, reluctantly.  Shinohara nodded his agreement.

“Excellent!” The man’s hands clapped together once, causing them to flinch. “I’m the Head Auror from the Japanese Ministry of Magic, catching ghouls and muggles is very different to catching dark wizards. My name isn’t important considering how I’m sending the two of you to Scotland very soon. Can you both speak English?”

“No,” Amon admitted, “we were taught some in the academy but it’s been many years since I’ve last spoke it.”

“ _Hel-lo. It very bark in he-re ne?”_ Shinohara slowly said in butchered English.

“I think you mean,” the man began in Japanese before switching to flawless English, “ _Hello. It is very dark in here, right?”_ Shinohara shared a glance with Amon. “You would both need a translation spell then. Once cast, it will translate English that you hear or read so that you can understand it. If you’re taking part in a conversation with an English speaker, the spell will translate what you say to them so that, they too, will understand.”

The Head Auror raised his wand at them and began muttering a long string of Latin words. He finished the lengthy spell with a flourish of his wand, showering sparks over them. “That’s it?” Amon asked, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, perhaps something that was more…impressive?

“Yes. That is all, I’ll see you tomorrow morning once we have organised a portkey. Goodnight,” he nodded curtly at them and strode out of the room, his robe billowing dramatically behind him.

 _Snick!_ The soft click signalled the door had been locked from the outside. Silence fell on them once more, heavy in the darkness of their temporary prison.

A quiet groan was heard some distance away from the pair of investigators. Amon rushed over to the cage, Shinohara at his heels, they stopped close to the bars and watched as the ghoul sat up.

“Wh-where am I?” The ghoul asked, disorientated, his voice hoarse from his time spent unconscious. “I’m…in a cage?”

“Those wizards caught us and confined us here, Eyepatch,” explained Amon. Both of Shinohara’s eyebrows raised in surprise at hearing the investigator converse with a ghoul without a trace of malice in his voice.

The ghoul turned, a single silver eye gazing up at them through white hairs as his signature eye-patched mask grinned eerily in the gloom. His left eye lit up in an entirely too human look of recognition as it met with Amon’s. “You-you’re that investigator...”

Shinohara glanced between the ghoul and his human friend, his surprise growing with every second the pair interacted with each other. _It sounds like they’ve met before. When?_

“I have questions,” Amon stated, trying to not fidget in anticipation of finally receiving some answers.

“I know,” the ghoul, Eyepatch, replied. “As much as I would like to talk with you, now isn’t the time.”

Frustrated, Amon growled, “We have _plenty_ of time, Eyepatch! Do you think any of us are going-”

 _“Shh!”_ Eyepatch cut him off, holding a finger up against the bared teeth of his mask. The ghoul continued in a whisper once the Amon had quietened. “They’re listening to us. I can hear the bugs they wired into the room buzzing, they are watching us from the other side of that wall,” Eyepatch’s eye flicked over to indicate said wall. Amon and Shinohara followed his glance, sure enough they could just barely see a two-way mirror concealed in the shadows.

“If they’re wizards then why would they need to wire the place?” Amon questioned.

“Everything here has a stale scent to it, those wires were probably here for years. It seems like this place is most likely an abandoned police station,” the ghoul concluded, keeping his voice quiet so that he wasn’t overheard. Eyepatch sighed, curling up into a more comfortable position in the corner of the cage. “For now, get some rest.”

“Right…” Amon muttered as he watched the ghoul’s eyelid close before following its example and settling down to try his luck at falling asleep.

Needless to say, unconsciousness continued to elude Amon that night.

* * *

“….has been stunned for transportation, Sir,” Amon resisted the urge to open his eyes upon hearing the unfamiliar voice. Sometime during the night he had unknowingly fallen asleep, his body still ached from the hard floor he had been laying on.

“Are the muggles asleep?” A second voice asked, his tone flat. Silence followed and Amon struggled to suppress the shiver down his spine as he felt someone’s gaze rake over him.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Did you get the meat from the CCG for the ghoul?”

“Yes, Sir,” the voice repeated.

“Good. Drag them over to the cage,” at the command, Amon felt two hands hook beneath his armpits. He continued pretending to be unconscious, making sure that his body hung limply like dead weight in the lackey’s grasp. “Get a move on, the portkey is set to go in two minutes!” Once the dragging had stopped the voice spoke up once more, “Hold onto this as well. The portkey is leaving in ten seconds…five…four…three…two…one.”

Amon felt a yank in his navel followed by a nauseous wave of dizziness as the room spun around him. Thankfully, the awful sensation didn’t last long, ending once their bodies collided with a hard, earthy ground. The scent of forest leaves and damp grass wafted in the air, contrasting with the musty air of their previous environment.

 “Ah, correct me if I’m wrong, you must be from the Japanese Ministry of Magic. I’m Albus Dumbledore, welcome to Hogwarts,” a new voice greeted them in heavily-accented Japanese*. “This must be the ghoul you’ve captured for the Tournament. I must say, this is my first time seeing a Japanese ghoul in person. What a splendid creature.”

“We went through the trouble of grabbing these muggles too. They’re ghoul investigators, so they’re trained to handle this ghoul. They’ve already agreed to help, so you shouldn’t have too many problems.”

There was a pause, Amon heard a crow caw from a tree nearby. Then: “Muggles? Isn’t that a breach of the International Statute of Secrecy?”

“Do any of your staff have experience with Japanese ghouls, Mr. Dumbledore? No? That’s why you need these muggles. They’ve killed and caught ghouls before, I bet that they would know more about them than any magizoologist of yours,” countered one of the voices.

“Besides, don’t worry, the Statute of Secrecy isn’t going to remain broken. Once the Triwizard Tournament is over, you can erase their memories.” At those words the blood in Amon’s veins turned to ice while cold sweat gathered on his forehead and dripped down his nose.

_That wizard lied to us! He had no intention of keeping his promise from the very beginning!_

 “Very well. It was a pleasure to meet you, please send the Japanese Ministry my thanks.”

“I will. Don’t forget to feed the ghoul this, I wish you good luck with it,” his words were followed by a loud crack that reverberated in the air long after he had last spoken.

“Ah, Severus, are the preparations complete?” This time when Amon heard Dumbledore speak, he got the feeling it wasn’t in Japanese anymore, yet somehow he could still understand it. _This must be the work of that translation spell…_

“Yes, Headmaster,” drawled Severus, “A tent has been set up in the forest clearing Rubeus has chosen for the ghoul and wards have been placed around the perimeter to prevent their escape, like you requested.”

“Thank you, Severus. Would you do an old man a favour and help me move these over to the clearing?” Dumbledore’s request was follow by a metallic _clank,_ Amon could only guess that the cage was somehow being transported.

“Fine…” Acquiesced Severus. Without warning, Amon felt the solid surface of the ground drop away from him as he was lifted into the air. _Without touching him._ He was so startled that a yelp nearly escaped from him and once again he was forced to fight the battle to resist the urge to _look_. _Just one small peek. It wouldn’t hurt anyone, right?_  Carefully, Amon opened one eye wide enough to peek through his lashes and took in his surroundings.

He was _floating._

Amon quickly shut his eye again once Dumbledore began to fill the silence as they walked, giving him no time to process this new revelation. He didn’t want to alert them so soon. “I’ve asked the House Elves to prepare a meal for our guests, it should be there by the time we arrive. When they wake up we can introduce them to Rubeus after they have eaten.”

“What about the ghoul?” Questioned Severus.

“I’m sure that Rubeus would love to feed it,” Dumbledore replied. Just as a tingling sensation danced along Amon’s skin, Dumbledore announced, “Here we are. Put our guests in their tent for now, Severus. Thank you for your help.”

Amon waited as he was levitated away, he noted the sunlight dimming behind his eyelids accompanied by the rustle of fabric. He was gently lowered onto a soft surface, his body slowly sinking down into the comfortable mattress as the spell release its hold on him.

His eyes slid open as he listened to the muted footfalls of Severus as he exited the tent.

_What were they going to do now?_

* * *

“Ah, good. You’re awake. I’m Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” greeted a familiar voice, Amon’s eyes dropped from where he was gazing at the ceiling _(How was everything so spacey in here?)_ to where an old man had entered the tent.

“Koutarou Amon, First Class Ghoul Investigator,**” Amon replied courteously, dipping his head in a formal greeting.

“Yukinori Shinohara, Special Class Ghoul Investigator,” Shinohara’s voice sounded from where he stood in the tent’s dining room doorway. He picked a path through the furniture over to where the other investigator and wizard stood. “Thank you for the food, it was delicious.”

“Our chefs would be delighted to hear that. I’m glad you have enjoyed your meals,” said Dumbledore kindly, his blue eyes twinkling behind half-moon glasses. “I’ve been informed that you have already had your purpose here explained.”

“Our job is to keep the ghoul _“controlled”_ and _“contained_ , _”_ correct?” Reiterated Shinohara as he sat down beside Amon.

“Correct. You will also be aiding Hagrid in his Care of Magical Creatures class as you both are very experienced with ghouls, or so I’ve been told,” elaborated the wizard, he removed a bag of sweets from one of his robe’s hidden pockets and held it out towards them. “Lemon drop?”

Amon reached over and accepted the proffered sugary treat, “Thanks.” He had always loved sweet things. Shinohara politely declined, shaking his head when Dumbledore offered him some too.

“I know this may all seem like an odd dream to you. Do not worry too much about it. All dreams, no matter how strange or frightening must come to an end. You’ll only be staying here for the duration of the Triwizard Tournament. A few months and you’ll be back home in Japan before you know it,” Dumbledore’s words sounding reassuring on the outside but all Amon could hear was the hidden promise behind them:

_Don’t worry. You won’t remember this._

“Hagrid should arrive any minute now, let’s head outside, shall we?” Suggested Dumbledore, who gestured for the two investigators to follow him. Amon shaded his eyes from the sunlight with his hand as he and Shinohara stepped out of the tent and into a forest clearing.

A few paces away, to one side of the clearing, was the quinque steel cage and its prisoner inside it. The trio made their way over to get a closer look, Amon noted that Eyepatch was awake, silently staring back at them with a single silver eye. “Fascinating,” Dumbledore commented, jovially. “It’s truly remarkable how human this ghoul appears.”

“They may look like us but their internal biology and diet, however, is very different to ours,” added Shinohara, enlightening the wizard.

“Hmm, I see. Is there a reason for the mask?” Pondered Dumbledore, his eyes began to twinkle again when he added. “Or does it mean this ghoul is trying to make a fashion statement?”

“Yes, there is a reason,” Shinohara replied, chuckling. “It’s not to make a fashion statement, although that is questionable, no, the mask is to hide the ghoul’s identity. From us, the CCG. Since we don’t know their true identities, we give them an alias based either on their mask, their tastes or other unique attributes.”

“What may this ghoul’s alias be then?” The wizard asked, curious.

“I don’t know…it does look familiar…” Shinohara trailed off, his eyes searching for something in the ghoul’s appearance to spark his memory.

“Eyepatch…” the name was muttered so quietly the others nearly missed it.

“What did you say Amon?” Shinohara asked, prompting the man to speak up.

“ _Eyepatch._ That’s the ghoul’s alias: Eyepatch,” Amon repeated, his voice much clearer as a spoke. The codename of the ghoul was spoken with a sense of familiarity in his tone that Shinohara quickly picked up on.

 “You know this ghoul?” Shinohara queried, intrigued by the pair’s previous interaction he had observed. 

“You could say that…” Amon answered, his eyes sliding to the side to meet with the ghoul’s gaze. “We’ve met a few times in battle.”

“I’m ‘ere, I’m ‘ere. Sorry I was late. One of the hippogriffs was bein’ difficult,” a heavily accented voice spoke up from behind them causing Amon’s eyes to snap up to meet the newcomer’s, breaking eye contact with the caged ghoul.

“No problem. This is Rubeus Hagrid, the professor who you will be assisting. Hagrid, this is Koutarou Amon and Yukinori Shinohara, they’re ghoul investigators from Japan’s CCG,” said Dumbledore, cheerfully introducing everyone with each other. “This, Hagrid, is the ghoul that the Japanese Ministry of Magic had so kindly captured for us. The CCG call it ‘Eyepatch’.”

Hagrid’s beady eyes lit up with awe as soon as his gaze fell upon the caged ghoul. “Aren’ yeh a handsome fella?” He cooed, like one would do to a parrot in an aviary. It was so disconcerting to hear someone talk to a _ghoul_ of all things like _that,_ it nearly gave the two investigators whiplash as their heads whipped around to stare dumbfounded at the giant man. “Yeh hair is as white as snow!”

Amon, to his astonishment, saw the way the ghoul’s silver eye had widened at the treatment. He could have sworn he saw a blush of embarrassment peeking from the few scant inches of the ghoul’s cheek that wasn’t covered by the mask. _Can ghouls even blush?_

“I’ve got a nice treat fer yeh!” Hagrid brought out a brown package that Dumbledore had given him upon arrival. It looked like it could contain a piece of ham from the butchers with the way it had been wrapped but Amon had a feeling it something was much worse. “Go on.”

Hagrid crouched down, unwrapping the package to reveal the raw meat it had contained and offered it through the bars to the ghoul. Dumbledore, Amon and Shinohara watched, fascinated, from the side. Eyepatch turned, catching the scent of the meat Hagrid was offering. The ghoul raised an arm, a hand outstretched and reaching for the food.

They all saw the ghoul’s uncovered left eye morph into the characteristic black sclera and red iris of a ghoul’s kakugan, gleaming ravenously. Amon waited for the familiar sight of the ghoul unzipping his mask, watching as he raised his other hand towards the zipper.

Glancing up, the ghoul’s eye met Amon’s, the hungry glint dying instantly in the sea of black. To their surprise, Eyepatch’s hand flew from his mouth up to his eye, covering the ghoulish kakugan from their view. He turned his head away from them, defensively bringing his knees up close to his body before ducking his head.

“Yeh’ve gotta eat somethin’. I know it’s not fresh, but it should still taste good enough. Go on, try it,” urged Hagrid, nudging the meat through the bars.

“No,” Eyepatch refused, his voice quiet. “I don’t want to eat it,” the ghoul whispered, voice cracking.

Hearing the ghoul speak stunned Hagrid, freezing him in place long enough for Eyepatch to knock the meat away with one of his rinkaku limbs.

“Strange…” Commented Shinohara, perplexed by the ghoul’s refusal of the offered human meat. “I’ve never seen a ghoul throwaway a chance to eat.”

 _‘Eyepatch is always full of surprises,’_ Amon mused silently. The ghoul is enigma incarnate.

 

 

 

_‘I wonder what he would do next…’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Here, Dumbledore’s words are not being translated by the spell. Since Dumbledore knows many languages, he would probably know Japanese and can speak it somewhat fluently.  
> ** I was unsure whether to put Amon’s full name here in an English or Japanese order. I decided to go with the English way, putting his first name first, due to the translation spell’s effect.


	3. An Introduction to Ghouls

_The next day…_

“I’ve got a special treat fer yer all today,” Hagrid announced, animatedly.

The golden glow of the morning sun cast dappled shadows through the forest canopy as the students followed Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest. Fourth year Gryffindors and Slytherins gathered around Hagrid in the clearing, their curious eyes flickering between the cage behind their professor and the two strangers beside it. _What was in that cage?_

“Here we are,” Hagrid gestured to the two men, “This here is Koutarou Amon and Yukinori Shinohara. They’re CCG investigators from Japan who will be helping me with our new subject: Ghouls. Yes, Miss Patil?”

“Isn’t there a Ghoul Studies class already? I thought it was a separate extra-curricular subject?” One of the female Gryffindors questioned.

 “If I wanted to learn about _ghouls_ I would have taken Ghoul Studies _instead_ ,” sneered a platinum blonde-haired Slytherin. “Who would want to learn about _ghouls_ anyway? All those ugly pests do is sit in your attic all day and make a racket.”

“Yer won’ be learning about those ghouls today, Mr. Malfoy. These lessons will focus on Japanese ghouls and I’ll tell yeh they’re very differen’ to the ghouls yeh all know,” lectured Hagrid, “While our ghouls are ugly, harmless, dim-witted creatures the Japanese ghouls take on the appearance of a human and are much more intelligen’ and dangerous. They also don’ eat bugs like the ghouls yer all familiar with.”

Hagrid stepped to the side, revealing the creature inside the cage to the class. The inquisitive students leaned in, trying to get a better look at the caged ghoul. It was sitting against the bars with its back to them, ignoring the class, a gentle breeze ruffling its pure white hair.

“What do they eat then if they don’t eat bugs?” A quiet Gryffindor asked.

“Humans,” the chilling answer was given by the investigator, Amon. As one, the students recoiled from the cage, horrified. A Gryffindor student in the back of the group, Neville, fainted.

“That is why we, the Commission of Counter Ghoul, exist,” Shinohara explained, “to protect the public from ghouls.”

“An’ tha’ is why they wear masks?” Hagrid queried. Until then, many of the students hadn’t realised the ghoul’s face was hidden beneath a mask. Several of the braver fourth years moved around to the other side of the cage to get a better look.

“Hagrid’s right! It _is_ wearing a mask! A rather creepy mask too…” The student shivered.

“Yes, to hide their identity from the CCG. We give them an alias to refer to them by since we don’t know their names. This ghoul here is Eyepatch,” Amon informed, gesturing to the white-haired masked ghoul. Eyepatch looked up at Amon upon hearing his alias and spared a brief one-eyed glance at the gathered students before turning away again.

“Would yer like ta tell them more about these ghouls, Mr. Amon and Mr. Shinohara?” Hagrid offered, passing the reins over to the investigators, “I’m afraid I don’ know tha’ much about Japanese ghouls.”

“Of course, that’s why we’re here, right?” Shinohara said to Hagrid before turning to address the class, “Ghouls can only feed on humans, though some may cannibalise on other ghouls. Any attempt at consuming human food will result in vomiting, as they are unable to digest food due to a certain enzyme their bodies produce. The structure of a ghoul’s tongue is also very different to ours, as a result, human food tastes disgusting to them. Humans taste so delicious to them, that there are some ghouls who eat them solely for pleasure.”

Many of the students began looking very pale and nauseous at the discussion about the ghoul’s diet. Amon began his turn, “Ghouls don’t need to eat as regularly as we do and can survive up to two months on a single body. You don’t want to be anywhere near a hungry ghoul as they will be so desperate to feed they will prey on the nearest food source, no matter where they may be.”

Amon’s lips twitched in amusement at the looks of horror displayed on the fourth year student’s faces, reminding him of his classmates back in the academy. “Ghouls also have a very keen sense of smell and can scent a human from a distance…”

* * *

“…up to four to seven times stronger than the average human,” Amon repeated to the third group of students that day, third year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. “The reason for many of these differences between humans and ghouls is due to the role of Rc cells in the body. Average humans have a Rc level of around 200 to 500 while ghouls have an Rc factor ten times higher than that of human, with a Rc level between 1000 and 8000.”

“Psst! Hey, I dare you to try and pet the ghoul’s hair,” whispered a young Gryffindor to his group of friends.

“Ghouls have an excellent regenerative ability as they are able heal small wounds in a matter of seconds. Larger wounds take longer and depend on the ghoul’s access to food supply…” Shinohara drawled, his enthusiasm at teaching dwindling by the minute, also tired from having to repeat the same thing a third time.

“ _What?!_ No way am I sticking _my_ _hand_ in _there!”_ Hissed a second Gryffindor. “Besides what do we get if we do?”

“A free box of twenty white chocolate frogs. Unopened. Cards included,” the first Gryffindor bribed smugly, knowing how irresistible the offer was to the others.

“I’ll do it,” a brave Hufflepuff piped up from beside them, surprising the group of Gryffindors.

“You’re on! Do it! Do it!” The Gryffindor said egging him on as he clapped the Hufflepuff on his back. They watched as the Hufflepuff creeped passed the lecturing investigators and their distracted professor towards the cage. Once close enough, the Hufflepuff shakily reached his hand between the bars and laid it on the ghoul’s white hair. After a moment, he released a relieved sigh when nothing happened and began to run his fingers through the ghoul’s hair, surprised at how soft it felt beneath his hand.

At first the ghoul seemed to lean into his touch before tensing and a pained scream tore through the extensive lecture, drawing the class’ attention to the Hufflepuff. Blood dribbled down the young boy’s hand as the ghoul sank its teeth deep into the human flesh. When the terrified Hufflepuff attempted to pull away, Eyepatch latched onto his arm with its hands, glaring up at the boy with an activated kakugan.

The students watched, petrified, as the ghoul stripped the meat off the back of the screaming Hufflepuff’s hand and swallowed it with a single gulp. Shinohara leaped into action, opening his briefcase and drawing his weapon from it. However, Amon blocked him before he could get close enough to slice the ghoul’s hands off.

“I’ll handle this…” Amon muttered then snapped furiously, _“Eyepatch!”_ The ghoul froze at the name, the sound of blood dripping onto the metal floor filling the tense silence. “Let go of his hand. _Now,_ ” he ordered.

Shinohara watched in awe as the ghoul obeyed, dropping the boy’s arm in a daze. Between one blink and the next, the ghoul’s kakugan deactivated, reverting to its usual silver-iris state. Eyepatch stared wide-eyed up at Amon for a brief moment, horrified comprehension dawning in the now human-like eye. The ghoul scrambled backwards away from the bars to the other side of the cage, wiping the blood away from its mouth and re-zipping the mask.

Hagrid dismissed the class as he scooped up the injured Hufflepuff into his arms and rushed him off back to the castle. The shaken students stood rooted to the ground long after their professor had hurried away. Amon whirled to the group of teenagers, eyes blazing. “You do _not_ put your hand near a ghoul no matter how weak they appear or restrained they are. Just because this ghoul is in a cage doesn’t mean that it is tame and you can touch it like some damn pet!”

The students’ heads lowered in shame as Amon harshly admonished them. “I thought you would all at least have some common sense, I should have warned you before. A hungry ghoul is dangerous. It was bad enough that we weren’t able to feed Eyepatch beforehand…a costly mistake…” The ghoul investigator shrugged off his coat, unbuttoned his shirt half-way, loosened his tie and yanked his shirt to the side to expose his right shoulder.

A few of the students gasped at the jagged scar revealed to them. “I once made a similar mistake when I first met Eyepatch. He wasn’t using his kagune so I underestimated him and as a consequence I got bitten,” Amon missed the concerned look Eyepatch threw at him behind his back, but Shinohara didn’t. _Since when do ghouls look so guilt-ridden?_ It made the ghoul look so _human._ “Don’t make the same mistake,” Amon added sternly as he re-adjusted his shirt and tugged his coat back on again.

The third year students left their Care of Magical Creatures class with Amon’s warning weighing heavy on their minds.

* * *

Amon watched with a lighter heart as Hagrid walked away after updating them on the bitten student’s condition and delivering them their dinner. He turned, food tray in his hands, only to find the eye-patched ghoul staring back at him with a pleading eye. Sighing, the ghoul investigator approached the cage and sat down beside it, tray in his lap, ignoring the inquisitive glance Shinohara sent him.

“How is he? The student…” Eyepatch whispered as Amon slowly chewed his first bite. The investigator swallowed before answering:

“They said they were able to heal his hand completely and that it wouldn’t scar him. He’s still traumatised but he’ll be fine.”

“That’s good…I’m glad,” Eyepatch said, sounding relieved. A calm silence followed as Amon ate his food. It was broken when the ghoul apologised, surprising Amon yet again, “I’m sorry…for biting you back then. Does it…does it hurt?”

 “No, not anymore,” he answered, honestly, his voice soft and a gentle smile on his lips. Amon peered over his shoulder and caught the intense look the ghoul was giving his coffee cup. “Are you thirsty, Eyepatch? Do you want some water?”

“Coffee…” The ghoul replied and Amon thought he had misheard the quiet answer.

“Ghouls can drink coffee?” Amon asked, puzzled.

“Only if it’s black with no sugar added to it,” Eyepatch elaborated, a wry glint in his eye, “Coffee is the only thing other than water that ghouls can enjoy like humans.”

“I’ll be sure to bring you some tomorrow then,” Amon promised. He felt someone’s gaze on him and glanced up to see Shinohara observing them from the tent’s flap. _Now isn’t a good time to sit and chat with Eyepatch. How can he with his friend staring at them like that?_ Frustrated at another missed opportunity, Amon stood and excused himself before heading over to get some sleep in the tent.

_He’ll get another chance soon enough. He just needs to be patient…_

* * *

That night Kaneki was woken from his fitful sleep by the sound of approaching footsteps. Shivering from the night’s frosty breath, the half-ghoul pretended to be asleep and oblivious to their presence.

“Are you mad? Didn’t you see what that beast did to that student’s hand? That thing is dangerous!” One stony voice snarled.

“Severus. The boy is fine. It was just an accident, it will not happen again. Rubeus is going to feed the ghoul tomorrow morning so that it isn’t feeling hungry during the lesson again,” a second, calmer voice, replied.

“It shouldn’t be used in the Tournament.”

“The Triwizard Tournament isn’t supposed to be free of danger, Severus. The champions are aware of the risks,” reassured Severus’ wise companion. “If the muggle CCG can handle the ghouls, then a young witch or wizard should have nothing to be concerned about.*”  

Kaneki heard one of the men come closer to the cage where he then stopped close enough for the half-ghoul to smell the sweet enticing scent of human meat. “Be quick Severus,” the other warned as the scent got even closer.

“It takes great skill to collect rare potion ingredients like this, Headmaster. Do not rush me,” Severus retorted and Kaneki felt a hand on his head for the second time that day. His body shook more violently as he struggled to restrain himself from sinking his teeth into the human flesh that _was so close_ to him.

_Flesh. Flesh. Human…tasty…flesh…so hungry…need…to eat…_

“Ghoul hair has many uses in the most challenging, advanced potions,” Severus explained as Kaneki felt him pluck a few white hairs. “Done,” the man declared, the tantalizing presence of his hand disappearing from Kaneki’s hair.

They left the starving half-ghoul to sleep. He was already dreading another day of being studied like a bug under a microscope and now he was also dreading breakfast too.

Once again, Kaneki fell into another restless sleep filled with nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Dumbledore is unaware of the effort it took to stun Kaneki when he was captured by the Japanese Ministry of Magic in Chapter 1. Even if he was, it wouldn’t make much of a difference since dragons, who are also very dangerous, were used in the first task.


	4. SS Rated Ghoul

When Amon exited the tent early in the morning after his daily push-ups, a mug of black coffee in one hand, he was surprised to see that Hagrid had already arrived and was busy trying to coax the ghoul to eat. “Yeh need ta eat something. Go on…eat it.”

“Any luck?” Enquired Amon as he came to a stop beside the larger man.

“No. He’s still as stubborn as he was yesterday,” Hagrid replied, waving the wrapped meat about. Amon eyes swivelled over to look at Eyepatch and was baffled to see the ghoul’s eye glance away. _Was he self-conscious? Did he not want me to see him eating?_

“Good morning, Hagrid, Amon. I see you’re trying your luck at feeding the ghoul, any progress?” Shinohara greeted cheerfully. They shook their heads in lieu of saying ‘no’. “Ah…I see. The students should be here soon.”

“Yeh hear tha’? Yeh should eat something before they get here, yeh don’ wanna bite another student again, do yeh?” Hagrid asked. The ghoul paused before slowly shaking his head and this time when Hagrid offered the meat, the ghoul took it.

They watched the ghoul stare down at the package in his hands as though having second thoughts before he began ripping the wrapping off ravenously. Eyepatch held the meat up to his mouth before seeming to remember about the mask and hastily struggled to unzip it. A drooling mouth was revealed beneath the mask, which opened and bit down into the offered meat. The starving ghoul devoured the small meal in under a minute, head bowed and gaze fixed on the cage floor, Eyepatch held his hand out towards them.

A silent plea for more.

This time, Amon handed the package to Eyepatch and watched as the ghoul scoffed it down just as quickly as the first serving. By the time the ghoul had eaten no less than five packages, the ghoul’s appetite was finally satiated. As Hagrid and Shinohara moved away to prepare for today’s lesson, Amon turned to the ghoul curled up in the cage.

“Eyepatch…hey, I got you your coffee,” he said gently, holding the mug out towards the bars. Eyepatch lifted his head, his eye meeting Amon’s as he raised his hand out once more. Amon carefully placed the mug in the ghoul’s hand, gripping it until the ghoul’s fingers had finished wrapping around the handle.

“Thank you,” Eyepatch thanked politely as he took a sip from the mug. “It’s good,” he complimented, pleasantly surprised.

“The school’s staff made it. They make all the human food,” informed Amon, smiling, happy to have pleased the ghoul so much.

“Amon, the students are here,” Shinohara announced, Amon turned to see a group of sixth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs trailing after him. They waited until they had all gathered around the cage before beginning the lesson. Amon was amused to see the students throwing disconcerted looks at the ghoul calmly drinking coffee in the cage. _Perhaps they had heard about the biting incident the other day?_

“I’ll leave it teh the two of yer then,” boomed Hagrid cheerily.

“It doesn’t look very dangerous,” a Hufflepuff, who held a striking resemblance to the boy that was injured, exclaimed as he _poked_ the ghoul with his wand. “It’s nothing like what my little brother descr-AHH!” The student shrieked, fumbling backwards away from the cage as he was met with the blazing glare of an activated kakugan.

“Do _not_ put _anything_ through those bars!” Amon scolded.

“Ten points from Hufflepuff, yeh need teh listen carefully to their instructions. They know their ghouls very well,” Hagrid added, worried that another student had nearly gotten hurt.

“Let’s begin with what you have just witnessed. The kakugan,” Amon began, gesturing to Eyepatch, “When a ghoul is excited, extremely hungry or using their kagune, their eyes will change to this appearance due to the influence of active Rc cells. However, ghouls may also choose to activate their kakugan at will.”

 “As for their inconspicuous appearance, Japanese ghouls are, in fact, more dangerous than the ghouls you know…or so I’ve heard. They-” Amon’s lecturing was cut short by a loud crash from behind them followed by a few students’ screams. Before Amon could turn around, a blur sped by him, the breeze created briefly ruffling the investigator’s hair. Amon could only watch as Eyepatch made a bid for freedom, sprinting full speed towards the clearing’s tree line only to smack painfully into an invisible barrier, the wards as the wizards called it.

The two investigators released their quinque as more of the students began shouting in alarm at seeing the escaped ghoul. “Everybody leave the clearing, go to the trees so tha’ the wards can protect yeh,” yelled Hagrid, ushering the students to the safety of the forest and leaving the ghoul in the hands of the CCG.  

Four red rinkaku tentacles burst from the ghoul’s lower back, the glow of its vein-like pattern pulsing to a silent rhythm as his kakugan darted wildly about, desperate to find an escape route. Feeling stressed and cornered like a trapped predator, Eyepatch tensed as he prepared to strike.

All was silent but for the sound of the ghoul’s panicked breathing. Birds hushed their melodic voices, trees halted in their sway and the wind exhaled soundlessly as even the forest held its breath in anticipation for the inevitable confrontation.

A harsh battle cry roared from Shinohara’s throat as he made the first move, charging at the ghoul with his weapon ready. The ghoul countered the blow with a rinkaku limb before sending two more tentacles to swipe at the investigator. Shinohara dodged them, swinging his quinque at the ghoul, refusing to underestimate it. Something about Eyepatch reminded Shinohara of the incomplete kakuja, Centipede. Perhaps it was the white hair or the way the ghoul cracked a finger before all four of the rinkaku tentacles swung towards him. The resemblance was there and it made Shinohara shudder at the memory.

Shinohara attacked again, putting as much power as he could into the blow. A rinkaku tentacle met Shinohara’s quinque halfway, neither side giving in as they pushed back at full-force. Eyepatch feinted with a second rinkaku limb, pretending to go for the investigator’s exposed waist and causing Shinohara to jump back out of the way. His retreat left enough room to escape thus allowing the ghoul to zip past. “Amon! Engage it!” He shouted over his shoulder.

With no other choice, Amon moved to swing his quinque at the ghoul’s kagune. Eyepatch blocked it with two of his rinkaku, distracted. The ghoul’s eye was still glancing nervously about the clearing, watching the surrounding students that were observing them from the clearing’s edge. “Eyepatch!” He exclaimed, catching the ghoul’s attention. “Calm down!”

Instantly, the anxiety drained from the ghoul’s form. His shoulders relaxing, his thrashing kagune calming and his eye ceasing with its constant, nervous sidelong glances.

“I really don’t wish to fight you,” said Eyepatch, truthfully, as his kakugan made eye contact with him. There was no malice in the ghoul’s black sclera and scarlet iris, only reluctance.

 “Neither do I,” Amon replied in kind, dropping his quinque to his side while Eyepatch’s rinkaku mimicked his actions, returning to a relaxed position closer to the ghoul. “Why are you doing this, Eyepatch?”

“I don’t want to stay in a cage all day while being ogled at like some kind of beast by a bunch of kids!” growled Eyepatch, frustrated. “I can’t stand it!”

“Listen, Eyepatch. We’re in a similar position to you,” Amon sympathised. Out the corner of his eye he could see Shinohara staring at them astonished, while hidden in the shadows of the trees, the students watched them in awe. The ghoul investigator dropped his voice to a murmur so quiet, only a ghoul could hear it. “We didn’t come here by choice. Remember that time in the abandoned police station? I told you back then that we had been captured. Well, Shinohara and I were kidnapped by a wizard while we were out eating at a restaurant!”

Amon hissed, his eyes glancing warily at the magical people under the trees, “I overheard them talking about _erasing our memories_ once this tournament of theirs is over! We can’t let that happen. The _three_ of us _need_ to escape _before_ the tournament is finished.”

“Then _what_ should we do? If I go back in _there_ how are we supposed to escape? They won’t let it happen again. We should escape _now_ while we still can!” Argued Eyepatch, keeping his voice quiet but loud enough for Amon to hear.

“I’m sure we can find a way to escape both this forest clearing _and_ this country if we take the time to plan it,” reasoned Amon. “For now, please return to the cage, Eyepatch,” he added softly.

The fight drained out of the ghoul completely at his words, giving in to Amon’s reasoning.

“Um…” Eyepatch glanced over to where the cage used to be, only finding a pile of broken bars. “What cage?”

“Ah…” Amon said, stunned. “You never cease to amaze me, Eyepatch. How on earth did you manage to destroy a _quinque steel_ cage?” The eye-patched ghoul had the grace to look embarrassed, another remarkably human reaction.

 _“Amon?”_ Shinohara questioned incredulously as he cautiously approached the pair.

“Eyepatch is now subdued, Shinohara,” reported Amon as though it wasn’t extraordinary how he was calmly standing beside a deadly, possibly SS rated ghoul. “The cage has been destroyed so there’s currently nowhere to put him.”

“I sent a student to fetch Dumbledore earlier,” informed Hagrid as he approached them. “He should be ‘ere any second now. He should have something better than the ropes I’ve got.”

“Is it really necessary?” Eyepatch asked.

“Yes, it’s for the safety of the students and us,” Shinohara answered. It felt strange to talk to a ghoul outside of battle, no threats or insults and no anger or violence. Shinohara was astonished when he saw the sad acceptance in the ghoul’s now silver eye. _Why was it being so reasonable and compliant with them? Was it all a trick?_

“I am here,” Dumbledore declared as he strode into the clearing. “What problem do you need help my help with?”

“Dumbledore! The ghoul broke his cage and escaped,” Hagrid exclaimed, filling the headmaster in on the situation.

“Let’s try this, shall we then?” Dumbledore withdrew a long wand from his sleeve and gave it an elegant swish.

The cage remained broken, much to the utter surprise of the professor and his students. “This cage is made from quinque steel, is it not?” Queried the wizened wizard.

“Yes, quinque steel is one of the few materials that can counter a ghoul’s kagune. It’s a wonder the ghoul had been able to escape in the first place,” answered Shinohara.

“When they captured me, I noticed that if a spell hit my kagune it wouldn’t have any effect on me,” Eyepatch supplied, surprisingly speaking in English, voicing his thoughts on the matter.

“That would explain why the magic didn’t work on it,” Amon mused, the first of the group to recover from the surprise of the ghoul joining in on the conversation. “Quinque steel is made from a ghoul’s kagune,” he added the information for the benefit of the two wizards.

“I see…then I’m afraid we will have to resort to a different method of retainment,” said Dumbledore as he waved in wand in an elaborate sweep. “I apologise in advance, I don’t have access to quinque steel so these would be made from ordinary iron. As an extra precaution, however, I can place some enchantments on them to give the iron some extra strength.”

A pair of handcuffs were conjured and upon seeing them, Eyepatch took a fearful step back. _“No.”_  At first they thought the ghoul was being stubborn again, so Hagrid reached out like he had often done to an injured unicorn.

“It’s okay, we won’t hurt yeh,” he soothed but the ghoul only backed away further.

“I’m _not_ wearing those things _again!”_ Growled the ghoul in English, kakugan re-activating and kagune curling defensively around him. _Again? Eyepatch had been handcuffed before?_ Amon wondered what the ghoul had been through to react so negatively to the sight of handcuffs.

Confused by the ghoul’s reaction, Dumbledore banished the handcuffs he had created before conjuring a metal collar with an attached chain. “I’m afraid these are rather degrading for someone of such intelligence,” the wizard apologised showing him the iron restraints.

“They’re fine…” Eyepatch muttered, his now human-like eye averted elsewhere. His eye darted back to them as he noticed Hagrid approaching with the iron collar. “Let Amon do it,” he blurted to their surprise. The silent _I trust him_ went unspoken yet was heard all the same.

Amon _hated_ the idea of putting a _collar_ on Eyepatch like he was some kind of _pet_ to be controlled. The investigator respected the ghoul too much to humiliate Eyepatch like that. However, since Eyepatch was trusting him to do this, something which greatly thrilled Amon, he would do it despite how his blood _boiled with_ _anger_ at the mere thought of doing such a thing to the ghoul.

Taking the collar from Hagrid’s hands and into his own, Amon slowly approached the ghoul, reluctant not because he thought Eyepatch would attack him but because he didn’t want to collar Eyepatch like an animal. Once Amon was close enough, Eyepatch bowed, exposing the back of his neck to the investigator.

The amount trust he was putting in Amon with this vulnerable position was almost overwhelming.

His neck was encircled by the black leather of his mask and Amon paused, briefly debate on how to put the collar on. Eventually the investigator came to the decision to put the collar on over the leather, rather than under it, and with trembling hands he carefully clipped the metal on around the ghoul’s neck.

Amon’s hands lingered as he gently checked to see if the collar wasn’t too tight and was surprised to see the diameter of the circular metal magically self-adjust.  “How does it feel?” He asked Eyepatch, the guilt shining in his eyes.

“Fine…” The ghoul replied in Japanese, bringing a hand up to tug at the iron band. When he saw the look Amon was giving him, he then added, “It’s not your fault.”

Amon made no move to hold the chain leash.

“What about during the night?” Questioned Shinohara, worried. At his words, a gleam entered the ghoul’s eye and he began to walk towards the tent. Shinohara grabbed the chain connected to the ghoul’s collar, accidentally yanking on it and causing the ghoul to stumble backwards. The investigator shot the white-haired ghoul a nervous look as it gave him a fierce one-eyed glare. “It can’t sleep with us! We’d have to stay up all night watching it.”

“The ghoul can sleep in this then,” Dumbledore declared as he conjured another cage where the other one once stood, not unlike the previous cage. He waved his wand once more, showering the iron bars in sparks. “There. It’s not a strong as a quinque steel cage but at least it can give you some piece of mind at night. There’s a set of keys with it you can use. Now, I must get back to the castle. Cheery pip!”

Shinohara thanked Dumbledore and watched as the class left after they were dismissed by Hagrid. He turned around to find the ghoul standing there patiently and suddenly he realised he was still holding the chain. Hastily, Shinohara pushed the chain leash into Amon’s arms and quickly backed away with a poor excuse, “The ghoul likes you so you should hold be the one to hold it. I’m absolutely famished! Are you? I need to go and get something to eat. See you later. Bye.”

Amon and Eyepatch shared a look, amused. They chuckled at the bizarreness of the situation and Shinohara’s flimsy excuse.

“Why don’t I get us some coffee?” The investigator offered, eyes sparkling with glee.

“Sounds great,” the eye-patched ghoul agreed, an identical spark reflected in his left eye.

* * *

“I’ve been told that your magical creatures have ratings giving to them depending on the danger they pose. Can anyone tell me what your native ghouls are rated?” Quizzed Amon, scanning the class of fourth year Gryffindors and Slytherins for raised hands. Only one student raised her hand as all her classmates were too pre-occupied with staring uncertainly at the ghoul, outside of its usual cage, sipping coffee while standing unnervingly close to the investigator, Amon, who held its chain (upon Shinohara’s insistence)  loosely in one hand. “Yes, Miss…?”

“Granger. Hermione Granger,” the Gryffindor replied, “The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures classifies magical creatures on a scale from one to five. Ghouls are classified as XX, two, meaning they are harmless and can be domesticated.”

“Mr. Hagrid?” Amon asked, sending the large professor a questioning look.

“Tha’ is correct, Hermione. Well done, five points to Gryffindor,” Hagrid praised, proud of his student.

“And what might you classify the most dangerous magical creatures as, Miss Granger?” Shinohara questioned.

“XXXXX- a five, Sir, any magical creature classified as such is considered a known wizard killer,” she answered, keen to show them her knowledge on the matter.

“Yes, and that would be the classification of a Japanese ghoul here,” Shinohara informed. Upon hearing this, the class glanced anxiously back at the chained ghoul, worried at the lack of familiar metal bars separating them.

Eyepatch placidly took another sip of the coffee, the chain links clinking together from the movement, ignoring the stares he was garnering.

“The CCG also have ratings for the ghouls in Tokyo,” explained Amon, “These ratings are set via an evaluation of the ghoul’s individual ability, the lowest being C rated. B rated ghouls are ranked higher followed by A, S- and S+ rated ghouls. Finally, the strongest ghouls are SS rated and SSS rated.”

A shaky hand was raised into the air. “Yes, Mr. Longbottom, was it?” Said Amon, giving the shy Gryffindor a nod to speak.

“Y-Yes, Sir. What r-rating d-d-does that g-ghoul have?” Neville stuttered.

“Excellent question, five points to Gryffindor,” Amon praised, causing Neville to blush. “Eyepatch is an SS rated ghoul,” his answer causing the flush to drain from the Gryffindor’s face as he paled drastically.

“There’s no need to look so worried, Mr. Longbottom,” reassured Shinohara, “Amon has got the ghoul under control, he won’t let it harm you.” Shinohara gave them a sidelong glance out the corner of his eye and noted the way the chain inched a few centimetres through Amon’s fist each time the ghoul took a sip of its cup. _He’s not even trying to keep a firm grip on it!_ Peering a little closer at the ghoul’s drink he discovered the liquid inside looked suspiciously like coffee. _Since when did ghouls drink coffee?_

Shinohara could already feel the beginnings of a headache. He turned to face the jittery fourth year students and internally groaned when he realised they still hadn’t covered the criteria used to determine the ranking of a ghoul.

_‘I could use a cup of coffee right now too…’_

* * *

“It’s a good thing our dinner’s here,” Shinohara commented as he entered the tent’s dining room, cheering up at the promise of a good meal. “Right, Amon?” He turned in time to see the man in question enter the tent, bringing the ghoul with him. “Don’t bring the ghoul in here!” He exclaimed, shocked. His eyes widened further when Amon, instead of walking back out and putting the ghoul into the cage for the night, only released his hold on the chain. Once the chain had slipped from Amon’s fingers, Eyepatch made a beeline towards the beds, collapsing onto a mattress with a content sigh.

“You know, that’s my bed, Eyepatch,” Amon remarked, amused.

“I know,” Eyepatch replied and Shinohara could _hear_ the smirk in the ghoul’s voice. “It has your scent on it.” The nonchalant comment caused Amon to splutter. “Your bed is really comfortable…” Eyepatch muttered, almost too quietly for the investigators to catch.

Amon gazed at the white-haired ghoul that was lounging on his bed with sombre eyes. “You can rest there as long as you want.”

“Eyepatch can’t stay here all night, Amon, it needs to go back to the cage once we’re done eating,” reminded Shinohara, sending a cautious glance at the resting ghoul knowing how sensitive their hearing is. There was no attack. Instead, it rolled over onto its other side, pulling the blanket over its shoulders and making itself comfortable.  

Amon opened his mouth, not to reply, but to eat his forkful of food. Throughout dinner, the investigator continued to shoot the sleeping ghoul concerned glances out of the corner of his eye. When the time came to return the ghoul to the cage, Shinohara warily approached Eyepatch and picked up the chain leash. “It’s time.”

Slowly, the ghoul sat up, its soft white hair tousled from lying in the bed. Dragging itself out of the bed, the ghoul re-made the covers before half-heartedly following Shinohara to the exit with a heavy aura of reluctant resignation.

“Wait! Eyepatch!” Amon called after them. “At least take this blanket,” he said as he tossed the blanket from his bed over to the ghoul. Shinohara allowed the ghoul to approach Amon, curious to see what it would do next.

Eyepatch looked up from the blanket to stare at the exposed mattress, his silver eye flicking over to meet Amon’s eyes. “I can’t accept this. It’s your only blanket,” refused Eyepatch as he carefully handed the blanket back to the crestfallen investigator. “You’ll need it tonight.”

Shinohara was astonished to see how caring the ghoul was towards Amon. Dazed, he led him away and locked the ghoul in the cage, the click of the lock startling him out of his stupor. “Why?” Was all Shinohara could say.

_Why do you, a ghoul, care for an investigator?_

Eyepatch understood his silent question. “Why shouldn’t I? Just because I’m a ghoul, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care.”

Speechless, Shinohara could only stare at the ghoul so _human_ inside the cage.

_Were they wrong about ghouls? Are they not the heartless, man-eating monsters in human form they had always been warned about?_

* * *

Kaneki watched through the iron bars as the warm glow emanating from the tent was snuffed out, plunging the clearing into the darkness. A river of stars twinkled merrily in the night sky, framed by the forest clearing’s circle of trees.

_Snap!_

Kaneki’s sensitive hearing picked up the faint sound of a thin twig splitting in half beneath someone’s foot. He tilted his head in the direction of noise and called out: “Who’s there?”

Silence followed for a few breaths of chilly air, then: _“What was that? Did you hear that?”_

 _“Ow! ‘Mione!”_ A male voiced hissed in English, Kaneki’s ears easily catching every whispered word.  He had studied enough of the English language before that fateful accident to understand and speak it well enough to get by. Kaneki had, at the time, read a few English horror novels and although he had enjoyed reading them, he still prefers _Takatsuki_ Sen’s writing.

 _“Shh! It sounded like Japanese,”_ the hushed conversation continued.

_“You mean those men are still awake?”_

_“C’mon…Let’s get a closer look.”_ Kaneki listened to the crunch of the fallen leaves beneath the group’s footfalls accompanied by the muffled rustling of fabric. As the voices neared, Kaneki scanned the clearing for their arrival but it continued to remain empty. Then the wind drastically changed direction and the scent of _human_ meat smacked him in the nose, its sudden appearance _so close_ to him, overwhelming him.

_Where are they? They smell so close._

“At least it’s in the cage again,” a voice spoke up from the empty space near the front of the cage causing Kaneki to flinch. The air shimmered and slipped from the shoulders of three students, pooling at their feet in a pile of fabric.

“I wonder…” the only female of the trio murmured, Kaneki recognised her as Hermione Granger, the Gryffindor from one of the classes. “Can you talk, Eyepatch?” Her companions shot her surprised looks from where they stood beside her.

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, I don’t remember hearing it speak,” remarked the dark-haired boy with the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.

“He is not an _“it”_ , Harry!”  Hermione admonished before turning to stare expectantly at the caged ghoul.

“Yes,” Kaneki replied, then realising he had spoken in Japanese, he hastily switched to English, “Yes, I can.”

Harry and his friend stared at the ghoul in astonishment while Hermione’s eyes lit up in a flare of excitement and awe. “You can speak both Japanese and English fluently?” She asked.

Kaneki shrugged in reply then remembering to answer in English, he added, “I wouldn’t say that I can speak English fluently, yet, I didn’t study it for very long.”

“You studied it? Does that mean…” She trailed off.

“That I went to university? Yes,” Kaneki finished, his answer surprising them. The wind howled briefly in the following silence, ruffling his white hair and buffeting the cage’s bars.

“I think this is wrong,” stated Hermione, startling the others. “You shouldn’t be here in a cage, even if…e-even if you eat h-humans…ghouls don’t have much of a choice in terms of their diet, do they?” Hermione took the grim look in Kaneki’s uncovered eye as confirmation. “I’ll open the cage for you.” Immediately, her Gryffindor companions protested, alarmed at her words.

“What? _No!”_

“Hermione!”

 _“Alohomora,”_ incanted the young witch in a language that was neither Japanese nor English. With a soft _click_ that resounded in the night air, the cage door creaked open, much to the horror of Hermione’s two friends.

Kaneki remained in the cage, staring out the open door.

“Go! Quickly before they re-capture you,” ushered Hermione, urging the ghoul to dash off into the shadows of the forest. “Why aren’t you going? I heard about the time you escaped during class this morning. Don’t you want to escape?”

“If I left here, where would I go? I can’t get back to Tokyo without a plane ticket and I don’t have any money on me to pay for it,” Kaneki replied, logically. “Besides, I agreed to stay here so that we could make an escape plan together. I’m not leaving without them.”

“You mean those strange guys that were teaching us?” the red-headed boy asked.

“They’re _ghoul investigators_ , Ron,” corrected Hermione, exasperated. She then turned to Kaneki with furrowed eyebrows, “Why would you want to stay with them?”

“You could say that they’re…in a similar situation to me, that and…I _want_ to help them,” he answered her, a determined glint in his silver eye.

Above them, the night sky began receding as the dawn’s light chased it away, forcing the darkness to flee from its touch. Kaneki tiredly blinked up at the rapidly lightening sky. _Was that the time already?_ “You better start heading back now,” the half-ghoul advised as he stood up and closed the cage door.

“What do you mean? We haven’t been here for very long,” Hermione commented, confused.

“You must have arrived here sometime in the morning then. Look. The sun’s starting to rise,” Kaneki said, pointing east. The trio of teenagers followed his finger, they jolted at the sight of the pink and gold clouds painted upon a blue sky.

“Merlin’s beard! If we don’t hurry we’re going to miss breakfast!” Ron yelped. “Come on, Harry, let’s go!”

“Boys…” Hermione muttered to herself, rolling her eyes, amused as she watched Harry and Ron sprint off before picking up the silvery fabric and rushing after them. Kaneki waited until they had disappeared from his line of sight before lying down and closing his eyes.

He hoped Hagrid would let him catch up on his sleep…

His tired eyes slid shut and within seconds, Kaneki was pulled into sleep’s embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that Eyepatch/Kaneki hasn’t had a translation spell cast on him.  
> Kaneki speaks in Japanese when speaking to the investigators and when he wants to talk to the others, he would speak in English. Being a literature student and a lover of books, he would probably know quite a bit of English.   
> I apologise for any confusion it has caused in the previous chapters.


	5. Heart-to-Heart

The following morning found a drowsy Amon standing in front of the ghoul’s cage, staring down at the slumbering figure inside. Usually, the eye-patched ghoul would be awake and alert by the time the investigators had their breakfast, but for some unfathomable reason this morning was the exception.

“Is the ghoul still asleep?” Shinohara inquired as he came to a stop beside his friend. He followed Amon’s gaze to the white-haired ghoul curled up on the cage’s floor, fast asleep. “That’s unusual…”

“Good mornin’!” Hagrid greeted cheerfully as he arrived. “Aren’t yeh gonna take ‘im out?”

“No, not now,” Amon replied, keeping the volume of his voice down. “Let him sleep.”

During the entire first lesson of the morning, Eyepatch slept on, oblivious to the curious eyes of the seventh year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Once again, Amon wondered what had made Eyepatch so tired to sleep in for so long. _It’s probably the cage…that metal floor looks uncomfortable to lie on._

When the lesson came to an end, instead of leaving as quickly as they possibly can, the seventh year students lingered behind. A mix of inquisitive Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws circled around the cage to study the sleeping ghoul up close, while the remaining students either spent the time chatting with their friends or asking Hagrid questions.

“Ah…It woke up!” One of the students by the cage exclaimed, alerting the investigators.

“Good morning, Eyepatch. Did you sleep well?” Amon asked, smiling pleasantly. Eyepatch raised his head, pushing himself up from the metal floor and blinked groggily up at the investigator.

“What time is it?” The ghoul enquired, confusion growing on many of the students, who had been shamelessly eavesdropping, at the use of Japanese.

“It’s nearly lunchtime,” Amon answered, obligingly. The ghoul’s eye widened at hearing the information.

“I…overslept?” He sounded confused, like it was something unusual for him as well. 

“Yes, you looked tired so we let you sleep in,” Amon informed, keys jingling as he raised a hand towards the cage. “Do you want to come out?”

“Yes...” Eyepatch replied, swaying slightly as he stood up. The moment the investigator had inserted the key into the keyhole of the cage, the door swung open allowing Eyepatch to step out. “Thanks.”

“It was already unlocked?” Amon voiced, baffled. He was _sure_ Shinohara mentioned that he had locked it last night.

“Yes,” Eyepatch began, “about that, last night some-”

“Oh, yer finally letting ‘im out, are yeh?” Hagrid’s voice boomed from where he was surrounded by a ring of students, cutting Eyepatch’s explanation short. “Don’t forget to keep a hand on tha’ leash.” At the professor’s words, Amon reluctantly took hold of the chain, sending Eyepatch an apologetic glance. The eye-patched ghoul only dipped his head in understanding.

A couple of the nosy students who had been hovering nearby sent the ghoul wary looks upon seeing it standing so close with no cage separating them. They stared as the eye-patched ghoul stood beside the investigator, shoulders brushing. “Why is it so tame? I heard it was violent.” Questioned one of the students. “Have you been training it?”

 _“No,”_ Amon nearly spat the word out as his anger was re-kindled inside him, “Eyepatch is usually like this.” The students flinched at hearing the sharpness in his tone and scattered upon sensing the investigator’s fury. Still seething, he led the way back to the privacy of the tent while being careful not to tug on the chain due to his fast stride. Amon remembered the time when he once thought of ghouls as nothing more than monsters who caused humans pain and suffering, but now…he has witnessed a side of them unlike any he has seen in his career.

Now, he knows there is more to ghouls beneath their bloodied masks than what he has been taught.

The moment they were inside the tent, Amon released his white-knuckled grip on the chain. He stood there for a moment, glaring at the carpeted floor, the tension slowly seeping from his body. When he was finally able to tear his hard gaze from the floor, his eyes met a concerned silver eye. “I’m fine. It’s just…why can’t they _see?_ You’re not some _volatile pet_ that needs to be _trained.”_  

“I don’t like it either, but I…understand,” murmured Eyepatch, a sad gleam in his uncovered left eye. “Perhaps, one day…they would understand too.” Amon had a feeling that the ghoul wasn’t only talking about the students. A heavy silence followed, almost suffocating inside the confines of the tent, as they lost themselves in their melancholy thoughts.

Golden sunlight poured into the tent for one brief moment as the tent’s flap opened. “Ah, Amon. There you are, I was-” Shinohara froze, both his words and his body, the instant his eyes caught sight of the loose ghoul. “Not _again!”_ He cried, exasperated, striding over towards the ghoul and moved to grab the chain himself.

The metal leash slipped through Shinohara’s fingers before he could even get a good grip on it as the white-haired ghoul backed away. He lunged for the chain a second time and the ghoul casually dodged him again with ease. “Amon! Don’t just stand there! Help me with this will you?” Called Shinohara as he swiped for the chain again, only to miss as the ghoul side-stepped out of his range.

Shinohara stumbled as he missed again, glancing up in time to see the ghoul step behind Amon, using the investigator as a barrier between them. There was an odd gleam in the ghoul’s left eye, was he… _amused?_

 _“Amon,”_ Shinohara hissed, trying to get the other man’s attention. There was no response. Amon remained where he stood, stoic and motionless. “What are you doing? He’s right behind you, grab him.” Amon peered over his shoulder at Eyepatch and shared a glance with the ghoul.

“Just leave him. He’s not going anywhere,” replied Amon. 

Shinohara sighed. _How could he make him see sense?_ “Amon. You said it yourself, Eyepatch is an SS rated ghoul. You can’t let him walk around freely like this,” he reproached, sternly.

“Eyepatch isn’t going to attack anyone, Shinohara,” Amon argued. “Besides, he’s going to be helping us escape.”

Shinohara’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. _“Escape?”_ He echoed, incredulous. 

“Do you remember what that wizard said he would do if we didn’t help him?” Amon asked, a grim expression on his face.

Shinohara nodded. _How could he forget?_ “Of course I do. He threatened to erase our memories, didn’t he?” 

“He did,” confirmed Amon and Shinohara could feel the dread weighing heavily inside him.

“Then why are you bringing this up?” He asked, despite the terrible feeling coiling in his throat.  “We’re doing everything they wanted us to do.”

“When we first arrived here, I overheard them mention breaking some sort of secrecy and when the tournament is over…once they have no use for us…” Amon trailed off, fixing his friend with a serious stare. “Shinohara. They _will_ erase our memories.”

Shinohara paled at Amon’s ominous words. “W-what…then what should we do? They have _magic_. If they catch us…”

“They won’t,” reassured Amon, his lips twitching into a smile. “That’s why we’ll plan it first.”

“Where do we start?” Shinohara asked, anxious.

“Hmm…let’s think about what comes after escaping this area. It won’t do us any good if we manage to escape with no plan of what happens next,” said Amon, rationally. “We need to think of a way to get back to Tokyo.”

“How about the same way that we got here?” A soft voice spoke up from behind Amon, startling them. The two investigators turned to face the eye-patched ghoul, giving him their full attention.

“You mean by _magic?”_ Shinohara asked, sceptically.

“That could work…” Amon muttered, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I was awake when they transported us. They used something called a “Portkey”. The only problem is, how would we get our hands on one?”

“I think I know just the person who could help us, but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to ask them,” Eyepatch declared, determined. 

They _will_ escape.

Together.

* * *

“There are other kinds of Japanese ghouls that are also found in Tokyo,” began Shinohara as he scanned the intrigued faces of the fifth year Slytherins and Ravenclaws, holding their attention. “Kakuja are a rare kind of ghoul that cannibalise on other ghouls. Through cannibalisation, a ghoul absorbs Rc cells which then increases the concentration of Rc cells within their body.”

“So if the concentration of Rc cells is raised high enough, the ghoul becomes a kakuja?” One of the Ravenclaws questioned.

“That is correct,” Shinohara confirmed, smiling. “The large concentration of Rc cells causes the ghoul to mutate, hence forming a new kagune.”  His smile faded as he began his next explanation, “Sometimes the transformation from ghoul to kakuja is incomplete…” Shinohara trailed off as he struggled to suppress the shudder that crawled down his spine as one particular ghoul came to mind. “These ghouls are called half-kakujas.”

A hand raised into the air, this time from a Slytherin. “Yes?”

“Have you ever encountered a half-kakuja?” The student questioned, more interested in hearing an exciting story than the information they were being fed. Even Eyepatch, who had been ignoring the class until now, and Amon looked more attentive upon hearing the question.

_“M-My fingers…on the bench…”_

White hair.

_“C-Centipedes…i-in my ears…”_

Crazed muttering.

_“How many kagune sacs does this guy have?!”_

Six crackling kagune.

_“A thousand minus…A-A thousand minus…s-seven…”_

Maniacal laughter.

_“Of all the ghouls I’ve ever faced…”_

_“…seven is what…?”_

An insane, incessant grin.

_“…you’re the craziest one yet.”_

**_CRACK._ **

This time Shinohara was unable to prevent the shiver that rippled along his skin and raised the hairs on the nape of his neck at the mere memory of the ghoul. “Yes…I have,” he answered, shuddering again. The students watched his reaction with curious yet eager eyes. “I’d rather…not…talk about it,” he added, much to the students’ disappointment.

“Can you at least tell us the alias of the ghoul?” Probed another nosy Slytherin.

_“Centipede.”_

Too absorbed in his horrifying memories of the half-kakuja, Shinohara missed the knowing glance Amon aimed at Eyepatch. The ghoul turned his head away, avoiding his gaze.

“Let’s move on from that subject, shall we?” Amon said, drawing the attention of the fifth year students from Shinohara to Eyepatch and himself. “Another kind of ghoul one might encounter is the one-eyed ghoul. Ghouls possess two kakugan which always activate together, one-eyed ghouls only possess a single kakugan, hence the name. Little is known about the origins and abilities of the one-eyed ghoul as many consider them urban legends. One-eyed ghouls are-”

“Half-human and half-ghoul,” Eyepatch interjected, in accented English, startling both of the investigators, the professor and his students.

“Half-human? You don’t get half-human ghouls. They don’t exist,” disagreed Shinohara. Eyepatch laughed bitterly.

“They exist all right. I _know_ they exist,” Eyepatch asserted, chuckling harshly. “Do you want to know how?” When no-one answered, too astounded to respond, he continued. “One-eyed ghouls that are born naturally are extremely rare. This is because the chances of pregnancy are very low and the child surviving the pregnancy, even lower.”

 “W-W-Why?” One brave Ravenclaw asked the ghoul, stammering. Eyepatch titled his head to one side as he considered the student, his chain leash clinking loudly in the tense silence.

“Ten points to Ravenclaw,” the ghoul praised, further shocking the students. “When the mother is a ghoul while the father is human, the mother’s body would mistake the child inside her as food and absorb it as nutrition,” he explained. Several of the students gasped while others paled, staring wide-eyed at the ghoul upon hearing the horrifying explanation.

 “When the mother is human while the father is a ghoul, the unborn child would not receive the necessary nutrients and would eventually starve to death,” informed Eyepatch. “In order for the child to survive, the mother would need to engage in cannibalism.” At those words, a few horrified students fainted. “However, there is another way for a one-eyed ghoul to come into existence.”

“And what might that be, Eyepatch?” Amon questioned, curiosity burning in his eyes.

“By transplanting an organ, a kakuhou, from a ghoul into a human. To turn them into an artificial one-eyed ghoul.” Amon wasn’t expecting that at all. It was…unheard of.

 _‘Humans becoming ghouls? That can’t be right…’_ The thought seemed familiar to Amon, when did he have it before?

_A door swings open, flooding light into a dark hallway in Cochlea, two figures are crouching in the shadows. They look up. Their mismatched eyes meet with his and he instantly recognises them: Yasuhisa Kurona and Yasuhisa Nashiro._

_Two humans he had taught in the academy. Now they were ghouls._

That’s right…he remembers thinking the same thing back then.

Humans becoming ghouls…

_‘Is such a thing truly possible?’_

-Line Break-

That night, sleep eluded Amon as Eyepatch’s words from the lesson continued to echo in his tired mind.

 _“They exist all right. I know they exist._ _Do you want to know how?”_

He tossed his head, rolling over onto his other side while hoping that the new position would aid him in his quest to sleep. It didn’t.

_“By transplanting an organ, a kakuhou, from a ghoul into a human. To turn them into an artificial one-eyed ghoul.”_

Frustrated, Amon groaned and ran his hand roughly through his hair, ruffling it. Why did that ghoul’s words have to haunt him at night as well as during his waking hours? Sighing, the investigator gave up on sleeping entirely. He shrugged on his grey CCG coat and stood from his bed, careful not to wake Shinohara, Amon quietly made his way over to the tent’s exit. Some fresh air could help with clearing his mind.

Once outside, the cool night air caressed his cheeks in welcome as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. As he exhaled, Amon felt his frustrations seep away from his body and into the peaceful quiet of the surrounding forest. Above him, the clouds drift apart to reveal the waxing gibbous moon, allowing it to illuminate the forest clearing in its silvery light.

In his peripheral vision, something glinted in the moonlight, catching Amon’s attention. He turned in the direction he had seen it to investigate and quickly discovered that it was the metal bars of the cage. Inside, Amon could see the still figure of the ghoul sitting with his back resting against the bars, his ethereal white hair glowing in the moonlight.

Curious, Amon approached the cage and sat down beside it, subconsciously mimicking the ghoul’s pose as he leaned back against the cage. They sat in comfortable silence, neither breaking the serene spell that had been cast upon the forest clearing.

 Eventually, Amon spoke up, his voice calm like the tranquillity surrounding them. “I’ve been wanting to ask you some questions for a while now, Eyepatch, there’s just never been a good time to talk.” He cast a glance over his shoulder, catching the ghoul’s silver eye as he too, glanced back at him.

“We always meet in battle, since when has that ever been a good time to have a friendly chat?” Eyepatch remarked, amused, chuckling softly. Amon smiled at the sound. “What did you want to ask?”

Amon didn’t have to stop and think as the question he wanted answering had always been there, haunting his mind. “Why did you let me go that night?”

There was no need to clarify which night. Rain and tears. Eyepatch remembered it too.

“I didn’t want to kill you,” the eye-patched ghoul replied.

 _“Why?”_ Amon asked, desperately wanting to understand. “You’re a ghoul, why wouldn’t you _want_ to kill a ghoul investigator?”  

“I didn’t want to become a murderer,” he replied simply, honesty shining in his silver eye.

 _“I’m begging you…”_ Amon recalls the tears in the ghoul’s eye as he pleaded that rainy night. “ _Don’t make me a killer.”_

Something still didn’t add up. It didn’t make any sense. “How is it possible for a ghoul not to be a murderer? Where else would they get their food from?”

“There are…places where humans go to…commit suicide. That’s where the ghouls who just want to live peacefully find their food. That’s how they can eat _without_ killing someone themselves,” explained Eyepatch, his voice soft. “Did you know? There are some ghouls who live their whole lives without killing a single human.”

 _‘No, I didn’t,’_ he thought as he gazed up at the moon shining above him, a silent witness to their heart-to-heart conversation.

Amon remembered Eyepatch’s words that night, when the ghoul’s hair was as black as a raven’s wing. _“Sure, there are ghouls who have taken the wrong path…but…not all ghouls are like that. We should…learn more…both humans… and ghouls._ _It’s not the ghouls who are screwing up the world…it’s you too.”_

When Amon turned, he saw that Eyepatch had shifted his position, giving the human a profile view of the ghoul. Gleaming eerily in the moonlight, Eyepatch’s ghoulish mask contrasted sharply with soft, melancholy _human_ look in the ghoul’s silver eye. _That mask doesn’t really suit him, not during moments like this…_

“Amon…” Eyepatch said, catching Amon’s attention, a warm look in his eye. Amon wondered when the ghoul had started calling him by his name.

Unhurriedly, Eyepatch slowly raised a hand up to his face until his fingers rested on the leather around the bridge of his nose. Amon watched, his mind going blank from his astonishment, as Eyepatch closed his eye and gradually removed his mask.

In the moonlight, a youthful face was illuminated in a silver glow, now revealed to Amon. Eyepatch lifted his head, his eyelids opening to meet Amon’s gaze with mismatched eyes. The eye that was always hidden beneath the mask’s eyepatch was now exposed, shining silver in the moonlight. Human. Beside it, the eye most familiar to Amon with its scarlet iris amongst the inky black sclera. Ghoulish. His gaze was warm and there was a genuine smile in the slight, gentle curve of his lips.

“My name is Kaneki Ken,” he said, softly.

Awed at the ghoul’s actions, Amon smiled. “Amon Koutarou, it’s been a pleasure to finally talk with you, Eyepa- _Kaneki_ ,” he replied, quickly correcting himself when he nearly called Kaneki by his alias instead out of habit.

Kaneki turned away again, leaning against the bars so that they were back-to-back once more. “Eyepatch…I wonder who gave me that name…” The one-eyed ghoul, Kaneki, mused aloud.

“Oh…that would be me,” answered Amon, “I was the first to encounter you and you didn’t have an alias before, so I gave you one.”

“It’s…very fitting,” commented Kaneki, there was an amused quirk on the corner of his lips.

An icy breeze swooped into the clearing, ruffling their hair as it took a frosty bite out of their unprotected skin. Out of the corner of his eye, Amon saw a violent shiver ripple down Kaneki’s body as the unmasked ghoul curled over in a futile attempt to keep warm.

It was then that Amon noticed the lack of blankets in the cold cage that held Kaneki. He shrugged off his coat and dropped it through the bars, draping it over Kaneki’s shoulders. “Here.”

“Huh?” Kaneki said as he stared uncomprehendingly at the grey coat enveloping him. He blinked once before recognition sparked in his eyes and he hastily declined the offering. “No, I’m fine,” raising a hand, he touched his chin, “you should keep it, Amon.”

“You need it more than me, Kaneki. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” reassured Amon. “These wizard folk know how to keep a tent warm and I still have that blanket. I’ll ask Hagrid tomorrow to see if he could get you some for you too.”

“Thank you,” Kaneki said, sincerely, appreciating the kind gesture and the warmth the coat provided him.

“No problem,” Amon replied as he stood. “Goodnight, Kaneki.”

“Goodnight, Amon,” echoed Kaneki as he pulled the coat tighter around him to shield himself from a second gust of freezing air.

Amon was able to fall asleep that night, his heart feeling lighter than it has in months.

* * *

“Good morning, Eyepatch,” greeted Amon, pleasantly, careful to use the ghoul’s alias while he was in the company of the others.

“Good morning, Amon,” the masked ghoul returned the greeting in Japanese, a sparkle in his left eye. The sudden change in attitude caused Shinohara to do a double take. Usually, the ghoul would only nod in reply. _Since when have they been so friendly with each other?_ He knew the ghoul liked Amon’s company but never has Shinohara seen the ghoul so open around them.

“Are yeh ready fer the lesson?” Hagrid asked, beaming at them.

“Nearly,” replied Amon as he let Eyepatch out of the cage, almost forgetting to hold onto the chain leash. “I’ve got something exciting to show them if Ka- _Eyepatch_ is willing to go along with it.”

“I am,” the ghoul stated, this time speaking in accented English for Hagrid’s benefit. Tilting his head to one side, Eyepatch added: “The students are here.” As if to prove the ghoul’s announcement, the sound of chatting teenagers soon reached their ears.

“Ah. Just in time!” Hagrid boomed, joyfully. “Over ‘ere you lot, Mr. Amon says he has a surprise fer yer all,” he called, beckoning the group of fourth year Gryffindors and Slytherins to come closer. They formed a semi-circle around them, buzzing with curiosity and excitement. 

“Wha’ will they be learning about today, Mr. Amon, Mr. Shinohara?” Hagrid asked as enthusiastic to learn as the students around him.

“We’ve decided on the kagune for today,” answered Shinohara as he recalled their most recent lesson plans. Casting a quick, inquisitive glance towards Amon and the ghoul, Shinohara began to teach. “Ghouls, unlike humans, possess an organ known as the kakuhou. From this predatory organ, Rc cells harden and break through the skin to form what is known as the kagune. The appearance of a kagune and the area of the body it emerges from both depend on the Rc type of the ghoul. There are four different Rc types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.” 

“Ukaku are released from the shoulder,” explained Shinohara as he indicated his own shoulders, “koukaku are released from just below the shoulder blade while rinkaku emerge from the back of the ghoul’s waist. Lastly, bikaku emerge from the ghoul’s tail-bone. Yes, Miss Granger?”

“Which Rc type does Eyepatch have?” Hermione Granger inquired, surprising the investigators by calling the ghoul by his alias.

“He has a-”

“I’m glad you asked that question, Miss Granger. Five points to Gryffindor,” interrupted Amon, speaking over Shinohara and forcing the investigator to cut his sentence short. “Why don’t we find out? See if you can guess which kagune he has.” Amon turned to the docile ghoul beside him and politely asked, “Eyepatch, if you will?”

The white-haired ghoul gave him a brief nod before turning around so that his back faced the class, his chain clinking from the sudden movement. They watched in morbid fascination as something in the ghoul’s back wriggled beneath his skin, snapping and crackling until two scaly red tentacles _burst_ free. Eyepatch’s crimson kagune thrashed about for one short-lived moment before settling calmly behind him.

Both Shinohara and the students stared wide-eyed at the ghoul, alarmed. “Amon! What are you doing?!” Shinohara exclaimed. _That must be what the “surprise” is. What a terrible idea!_

“Don’t worry, Shinohara. Eyepatch won’t harm anyone,” reassured Amon. To support his argument, he ran a hand along one of Eyepatch’s rinkaku, marvelling at how warm and soft the scales felt beneath his hand. The glowing tentacle squirmed, shifting away from his hand then back into his palm again, uncertain how to react to the non-threatening touch. Amon looked up from his hand to gauge Kaneki’s reaction and was amused to see the ghoul awkwardly watching him.

“That feels weird…” Kaneki muttered, embarrassed, too quietly for anyone but Amon to hear.

 “Wicked!” Ron said, amazed that the investigator was touching something so dangerous. “What does it feel like?”

“Like someone is stroking one of your arms, but the skin there is much more sensitive…it’s sort of ticklish,” the ghoul replied unexpectedly, his kakugan tracing the path of Amon’s hand along the pulsing veins of his kagune. Ron, who was expecting an answer from Amon, gawked at the eye-patched ghoul.

“Why is there only _two?_ I heard there were four,” a Slytherin, Blaise Zabini, asked. Amon let his hand drop from the kagune and stepped away in order to give Eyepatch some room. A sound akin to bones crunching was heard causing several of the students to cringe, it was followed by two more tentacles erupting from the ghoul’s back. _“Oh…”_

“Can anyone guess what Eyepatch’s Rc type is?” Amon questioned. Instantly, Hermione’s arm flew up, begging to be chosen. Amon scanned the class as he waited a little longer to see if a different student wanted to have a go.

“It’s a bikaku, _obviously,”_ sneered an arrogant Slytherin, Draco Malfoy. 

“Close, but not quite,” corrected Amon, “It isn’t uncommon for one to mistake them for a bikaku, especially those who are inexperienced with ghouls. Would anyone else like to guess? Miss Granger? You look eager.”

Eager was an understatement, the words rapidly poured from the Gryffindor’s mouth like a roaring waterfall of knowledge. “That kagune is a rinkaku. If you look carefully, you can see it emerges too high to be a bikaku and too low to be a koukaku.”

“I see you’ve been paying close attention. Excellent answer, Miss Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor,” praised Amon as Malfoy glared at the knowledgeable girl. “Eyepatch’s kagune is a rinkaku.”

“Ghouls who wield rinkaku are known for their outstanding regenerative abilities and superior striking power,” explained Amon, “Some of these ghouls are able to manipulate the shape of their kagune into different forms. As with other Rc types, kagune size depend on the quality and quantity of the Rc cells, while the shape depends on the creativity and intellect of the ghoul…”

The rest of the lesson passed quickly as the ghoul gave a few more small demonstrations to go with Amon’s lecture. These ranged from small-scale manipulation of kagune into entertaining shapes to the more large-scale merging of the four rinkaku into a single, bulky tentacle. As the students slowly got over their fear and uncertainty, they became more comfortable with the display. Once dismissed, they groaned loudly at having their fun cut short before leaving the clearing, chatting excitedly.

“You three! Wait,” called Amon, his voice stopping a group of three Gryffindors in their tracks. They froze. “I’d like to have a word with you.” The teenagers traded glances, both intrigued and worried at having been singled out. “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble,” he reassured upon seeing their faces, at his words, the tension drained from their shoulders.

“This way.” Without looking back, Amon turned and led the chained ghoul into the tent. Nervously, the trio of fourth year students followed behind them with Shinohara bringing up the rear. Once, inside the spacious tent, the investigators and ghoul each took a seat at the wooden table provided, making themselves comfortable.

The Golden Trio hovered awkwardly by the entrance, their eyes darting about the unfamiliar surroundings of the obviously magical tent. “Please take a seat,” suggested Shinohara as he gestured to the empty chairs. “Oh and before we start, Miss Granger?”

“Y-yes, Sir?” Hermione stuttered.

“It was _incredibly_ _reckless_ of you to release such a _high rated_ ghoul from its cage. Had it been any other ghoul, you wouldn’t have lived to see this day,” reprimanded Shinohara, his voice harsh. Hermione flushed, ashamed, ducking her head so that her bushy hair hid her face. “Consider yourself _very_ lucky.”

  _“Bloody Hell!_ How did he know about that?” Ron whispered to Harry, it was loud enough that everyone heard it, despite his hushed voice.

“Eyepatch told us himself,” answered Amon, making the two boys jolt, startled. “He also said that the three of you may be able to help us.” Eyepatch gave them a silent nod in confirmation.

“What do you need our help with?” Harry asked, his emerald green eyes shining with interest.

“You see, Eyepatch isn’t the only one being held here against his will…” Amon gestured to Shinohara and himself, “we are too.”

“We were ordered by this Japanese wizard to work for Dumbledore by keeping Eyepatch under control,” explained Shinohara, continuing from where Amon had stopped. “It was only afterwards that Amon discovered that by the end of the tournament, they want to erase our memories.”

“You mean you’re _muggles?!”_ Ron yelped.

“I suspected that was the case…” Hermione commented, “When you mentioned the CCG, I did some extra research in the library and out of all the books that I had found, none of them had mentioned anything about the CCG being a branch of the Japanese Ministry of Magic.”

“We don’t have magic and that is why we need your help, if you are willing that is,” said Shinohara, his expression serious. “The wizards brought us here using something called a “Portkey”, if you can, find us one that will take us back to Tokyo.”

“I wouldn’t know about finding a portkey, but with some effort I should be able to make one for you,” offered Hermione, “It’s very advanced magic and we don’t learn how to apparate until we’re older, so it might take me a while to prepare one for you.”

“How long do you need?” Eyepatch asked in English, startling the students. The ghoul was so quiet they had almost forgotten that he was even there. “We need to know so that we can plan ahead.”

“Hmm…two weeks…perhaps at most…” Hermione mumbled, calculations swirling in the forefront of her mind, “…no… a month maybe, give or take a few weeks.”

“That will do.” Amon nodded, contemplatively. “If you’re caught aiding us in this mission, there is a possibility that the three of you could be expelled. Are you willing to risk that?”

“Yes, we want to help you,” replied Hermione.

“It’s nothing that we haven’t risked before, I’ll help,” offered Harry. Both Gryffindors turned to stare at their friend, the only student who hadn’t yet given his answer.

“What?” Ron sputtered, shrugging, he told the investigators: “If they’re in, I’m in.”      

“Excellent,” said Amon as he clapped his hands together once to draw everyone’s attention back to him. A hopeful glint of determination shone in his eyes despite the dreadful feeling trickling down his spine. “Let’s begin drafting the plans.”

Amon’s instincts were trying to warn him…

 _Something awful is looming on the horizon_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Their time is running out as the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament approaches. One week passes…then two…will Hermione be able to finish making the portkey in time for them to escape?


	6. Eye to Eye

A week passes by with little progress in their plan and the stress of their situation was beginning to show. Amon paced around the living room of their tent, while Eyepatch lounged on the sofa reading a book with no-one holding onto the chain attached to his collar. Shinohara, whose eyes had been tracking his friend’s restless pacing, sighed in agitation.

“Pacing isn’t going to do you any good, Amon,” advised the older investigator, “I know you’re stressed that Miss Granger hasn’t made any progress with the portkey but you need to calm down.”

Amon growled, dragging a hand through his hair and slumped heavily into the sofa beside the eye-patched ghoul. Shinohara cast the ghoul an apprehensive glance. He didn’t like how Amon kept on letting it loose in their tent, but so far the ghoul seemed to be passive enough.

Slouching deeper into the cushions, Amon gave his companion a side-ways glance, immediately catching sight of the novel in his hands. “Where did you get that book from, Eyepatch?” He asked, curious. For a long moment there was no reply from the ghoul, too absorbed in the novel he was reading.

‘ _He’s an avid reader,’_ Amon observed as he watched Eyepatch’s eye trace along the words of the page at a swift, practiced pace.

“Hermione was kind enough to lend it to me the last time she visited us,” came the eventual reply, the ghoul’s uncovered eye still locked onto the book’s pages as he answered.

“Is it good? You seem to be enjoying it,” questioned Amon.

“Yes, the plot is quite interesting and the characters are well written,” this time there was less of a pause between Amon’s question and Eyepatch’s answer now that he had some of the ghoul’s attention.

“Do you have a favourite book?” At his words, Eyepatch finally lifted his head and made eye-contact with Amon, his silver eye sparkling.

“I enjoy reading _Takatsuki_ Sen’s work,” the ghoul replied, a hint of passion slowly seeping into his tone. “Her literary style is delicate and yet the core has strength, I’m also really fascinated by the vague style of her writing.”

“Takatsuki Sen? Isn’t that the renowned horror novelist?” Shinohara piped up, joining the conversation. “A ghoul reading horror novels…” He mused aloud, amused.

Eyepatch began to refute Shinohara’s words, “I wasn’t a gh…” however, he trailed off into an incoherent murmur too quiet for the two humans to discern while his eye returned to reading his book. Amon could only guess that it had something to do with Eyepatch being a one-eyed ghoul.

An awkward silence reigned in the tent, disturbed only by the soft rustling of paper whenever Eyepatch had finished the page he was on. “That’s it,” snapped Shinohara, frustrated, as he abruptly stood up causing both of the other occupants to jolt and gaze up at him. “I’m going to see if I can have a shower,” he declared. “There’s only so much sweat a man can take.”

 _“Where?”_ Amon asked, dispirited, “I’ve checked before and there’s nothing for us to wash with. There’s no stream in the clearing, no other tents, no water pumps or buckets, _nothing.”_

“What do those wizards expect us to do? They should at least provide _something_ for us to wash in,” complained Shinohara, “If you start to smell something bad, don’t look at me. It’s not my fault that they didn’t let us wash.”

“You don’t smell bad,” reassured Eyepatch, glancing up briefly from his book to look the investigator in the eye.

“Thanks…?” Shinohara didn’t know whether the comment made him feel better or worse. This is a _ghoul_ and to ghouls, humans are something which they _eat._ Their food. _Either way he probably smells delicious, sweaty or not._

“Why don’t you ask Hagrid when he arrives with our lunch, Shinohara? Perhaps he could help us,” suggested Amon.

“Good idea, Amon. I’ll do that.” Shinohara could feel the sweat dripping down the back of his neck, making him shift uncomfortably.

Lunch couldn’t arrive fast enough for them.

* * *

Thankfully, Hagrid arrived on time and Shinohara was able to deliver his request. Bushy brows furrowed, Hagrid nodded once the investigator had finished, concerned, before leaving to fetch Dumbledore.

When they returned to the clearing, another man was accompanying the old wizard. “Hagrid has informed me that you want to bathe. I am deeply sorry that you were not provided with access to such a facility,” apologised Dumbledore, dipping his head at the three of them. The stranger beside him grunted, drawing their attention to him.

He was a grizzly man with many scars and a wooden prosthetic in lieu of his leg. Amon noted the man had a missing chunk of flesh out of his nose as though a voracious ghoul had bitten it. What was most striking about the man’s appearance, however, was the electric blue fake eye that rolled about in its socket, independently from the beady eye beside it.

Seeing their inquisitive gazes, Dumbledore introduced the man. “This is Alastor Moody. He insisted that he would be the guide escorting you today.” Moody’s fake eye spun, darting from Shinohara to Amon before lingering intently on Eyepatch for far too long.

It was unnerving.

“You must be the ghoul I’ve heard so much about. Well it goes without saying, _don’t even try to escape._ Do so and I will catch you. Death Eaters have tried to run, but where has that got them? _Azkaban!_ Don’t even bother trying it,” warned Moody, his voice gravelly and harsh. Eyepatch only remained silent, his kakugan glaring threateningly, unintimidated by Moody’s words.

Dumbledore clapped twice to gain everyone’s attention and Eyepatch’s kakugan reverted to its usual silver grey. “Before we go, let’s do something about those wards,” he said as he withdrew his wand from his starry robe’s sleeve and gave it a twirl. There was a flash of light as bright as the midsummer sun and Amon was forced to close his eyes in order to shield them from it. “It is done. _Only_ for this afternoon, shall the three of you be able to pass through these wards freely. I’m afraid you will have to wait until the Tournament is over before you can do so again. We cannot afford to lose the ghoul now, so I’m afraid that the security must remain tight. Let’s getting going, shall we?”

Dumbledore led the way through the Forbidden Forest, the two wizards by his side while the investigators and the ghoul trailed behind. As they walked, Dumbledore filled them in, “Alastor will be showing you the way to the Prefects’ Bathroom in the castle. You can wash up there for as long as you wish and once you are satisfied, Alastor will guide you back here.”

They arrived on the forest’s edge, the lack of trees obscuring their path gave them a clear view of the grassy expanse of hills that laid before them. “Wow…” Eyepatch whispered, quiet enough that only Amon heard, his gaze fixed on the largest hill. Seeing the side-long perplexed look Amon was giving him, Kaneki leaned closer to the investigator so that he could talk to him more privately, without the others overhearing them. “This is my first time seeing a European castle in person. It’s rather impressive too.”

“Castle? What castle?” Amon asked more loudly than he had initially intended, if the curious stares he had garnered were anything to go by. “There’s nothing there.”

“I don’t see any castles either,” commented Shinohara, scanning the rolling hills for any buildings that he might have missed. “Wait. There’s an old ruin over there,” he pointed to the crest of the largest hill.

“You’re right, there is,” agreed Amon. Eyepatch stared at the two of them in confusion.

“Yeh can’t see Hogwarts? Yeh’re not muggles are yeh?*” Hagrid inquired, shuffling apprehensively from one foot to the other.

“It doesn’t matter now, does it?” Amon responded, thinking of Dumbledore’s plan to erase their memories once this was over.

They began approaching the ancient ruins upon the grassy hill, yet with each step closer, Amon could feel something nagging him from the corner of his mind.

Then, someone gasped.

 “Ah! No! I can’t _believe_ I’ve forgotten!” Shinohara exclaimed out of the blue causing everyone to halt in their steps to face him.

“What’s wrong, Shinohara?” Amon asked, worried.

“I haven’t made my bed. The pillows are all crinkled and the blankets haven’t been tidied!” Shinohara groaned, loudly.

“So? It’s not urgent, you can wait until after we have washed,” reasoned Amon.

“No! I _can’t_ wait! It needs to be done _now._ I’m sorry but you should go on without me,” bemoaned Shinohara, who then turned and began to walk back _into_ the forest.

‘ _That’s weird. He was really looking forward to washing,’_ thought Amon as he lunged to grab his friend’s arm. “Hey! Shinohara!” His hand closed around his target. Success. “The bath is this way. Remember?” Amon dragged his friend over in the direction of the hill, remembering to hold onto Kaneki’s chain in his free hand to appease the wizards.

However, as soon as Amon had caught up with the wizards, he promptly forgot what he was doing before one thought, one _vital_ thought, took over his blank mind.

_‘I need to go back to our tent and take a nap.’_

He _needs_ to.

He _has_ to.

He _must._

The chain attached to the collar around the ghoul’s neck became taut as the dazed investigator suddenly joined his friend in his mission to return back to camp. Dumbledore watched, his eyes twinkling in amusement as Eyepatch-annoyed and confused-dug his heels into the ground like a stubborn dog, struggling to prevent himself from being dragged along.

 “Snap out of it! Amon!” Eyepatch growled in Japanese, grabbing onto his chain in order to help him pull the investigator back without the collar pressing so hard against his neck. “What are you doing?”

“Must…go back…need to have a nap….not here…in tent…urgent. Very urgent,” he answered in a flat voice, his face expressionless and his eyes unfocused.

Deciding to put them out of their misery, Dumbledore stepped forward and gave the two muggles a simple tap on the head with his wand, briefly causing both of them to glow blue. When the light emitting from them had faded, they blinked rapidly in confusion, their eyes darting about as they attempted to piece together what had just occurred.

Just when Amon and Shinohara had both opened their mouths to question Dumbledore, they caught sight of the castle and their breaths were taken away. _It truly is an impressive sight…_

“I must be off now. I’ll be seeing you at the Tournament in a few weeks’ time, if you need me just give Rubeus a holler. Cheerio!” Chirped Dumbledore, excusing himself from the group.

“I need ta head back too, still haven’t given the hippogriffs their lunch. Any longer and they’ll be very grumpy with me. Remember to listen to Moody,” with those parting words, Hagrid too, began heading in the direction of a small hut by the forest’s edge.

“What are you dawdling around for? Go on! Get a move on!” Moody barked, limping steadily towards the magnificent castle that was perched upon the hill without so much as a single glance backwards. Amon, Shinohara and Eyepatch scurried to keep up with him.

Amon could feel the cold metal of the chain slipping through his loose grip as they neared the majestic castle. He didn’t bother to tighten it as he knew Kaneki wouldn’t harm anyone. That and he didn’t like leading the ghoul around like some kind of pet dog.

“I can see your flimsy grip on that leash, boy! Don’t think that I wouldn’t notice!” Moody snapped, stopping suddenly and whirling around to face them. Amon felt rather affronted at being called a _boy. He was a man, not some little kid!_

“CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” Bellowed Moody, causing all three of them to jerk at the unexpected shout and loud volume. “That ghoul is dangerous and I don’t want to see it running around loose in the castle nibbling on the students. If you so much as loosen a _pinkie finger_ on that chain, _I will know!”_ Moody tapped his magical eye, “I don’t care if your hand starts to cramp! Keep. Your. Grip. _Tight! Do you understand?!”_ He growled, the fake eye rolling erratically in its socket.

“Yes, Sir,” replied Amon as he hurriedly corrected his grip.

“Good!” Something darted out of the corner of Moody’s gnarled lips and it took Amon a moment before he recognised it as Moody’s _tongue._ The tongue flickered in and out again to wet the man’s lips, reminding Amon of a snake. Alastor Moody removed a hip flask from his waist and tipped his head back to take a long swig from it, his fake eye fixed perturbingly on Amon. “This way. Keep up.”

Once the wizard had turned his back on them, the investigators and the ghoul traded glances for a brief moment before following. Two large wooden doors swung open to reveal a stone entrance hall, beckoning them to enter. Across the room, Amon could see a second pair of doors that were slightly ajar, allowing him to catch a glimpse of long wooden tables and what appeared to be an open roof in a spacious hall.

During their journey deeper into the magical castle, the three humans and ghoul passed by many paintings that decked the ancient walls. “Oi! You there!” A voice called from somewhere nearby. Both Amon and Shinohara stopped, looking in both directions of the hallway in search of the voice’s owner. “No, not _there._ Over here! On the wall beside you!” Their eyes widened upon finding the source of the voice.

_The painting! It talks!_

“Finally!” The painted figure exclaimed, overdramatically. “What are you doing dragging that poor boy along in a chain like that? Is he your slave or something? I heard they abolished that wretched practice.”

“No, he’s not my _slave_ ,” confirmed Amon, his mouth twisting in a scowl at the mere thought of owning Kaneki as a slave. “I don’t like chaining him like this either, but he’s a SS rated ghoul so we have no choice.”

“A ghoul?” Repeated the figure, its eyes taking in the ghoul’s mask, white hair, smooth skin and human-like body. “Doesn’t look like a _ghoul_ to me. Are you sure?”

“Yes! That thing is a _ghoul!”_ Moody snarled, rapping his knuckles against the painting’s frame. “The chains are crucial! Constant vigilance!” The figure quivered fearfully under the wizard’s fierce glare. After the outburst, he stormed away, wooden leg thudding heavily against the stone floor with each step.

Near the end of the corridor, the eye-patched ghoul slowed to a halt, catching Amon’s attention when the chain lightly tugged his hand. “What is it, Kaneki?” He asked softly, careful not to let his voice reach Moody’s ears and alert him to their conversation. Kaneki gazed longingly through a gap between a pair of elaborately carved wooden doors. Shifting closer, Amon peered over the one-eyed ghoul’s shoulder to see the room he was staring at so intensely.

It was the castle’s library.

A very extensive library by the looks of it. Amon wasn’t surprised that it had caught Kaneki’s attention. _He’s quite the bookworm._ Sending the wizard’s back a cautious glance, Amon was relieved to see that Moody hadn’t noticed the delay. He gave the ghoul’s chain a gentle tug. “Come on. Let’s get going before he notices.”

“Yeah…” Kaneki acquiesced, his voice quiet. Just as the ghoul began to follow, he froze, gaze still fixed on the sight between the two doors. “Is that…Hermione?”

“Oh?” Amon peeked through the gap a second time and scanned the tables, a flash of ginger caught his eye. Ron and Harry had accompanied Hermione, all three of them were bent over a pile of large tomes and were whispering fervently. “You’re right,” agreed Amon, “they must be researching how to make the portkey we need.”

Kaneki watched the trio wistfully for one long moment before closing his uncovered left eye and turning away from the rows of beckoning books. He walked side-by-side with Amon down the corridor, thankfully catching up with the others before they had noticed the duo’s absence.

The end of the corridor opened up into a room with a high ceiling and large oil paintings lining every inch of the surrounding walls, a staircase criss-crossing through the centre of the vast space. “What floor is this bathroom on?” Shinohara wondered aloud as he eyed the many floors, each connected by a set of stairs. _Wait…Did one of those stairs just move?_

“It’s on the fifth floor, so be prepared for a thorough instantaneous workout,” answered Moody, gruffly. After climbing the third set of stairs, with his legs burning from the exercise, Amon was inclined to agree with Moody. _It must be a strategy of theirs to keep the students fit…_

 The fourth staircase proved to be troublesome, not in the sense that it had more stairs than the others, but that it _moved_ the second the last person had stepped foot upon it. _Of course the moving paintings weren’t enough for the wizards._ Thankfully, all three of them had excellent balance and rapidly recovered without the aid of the railing to support themselves. From then onwards, the journey was smooth with one final hurdle before them: the password-protected door.

“Here we are,” declared the war-worn wizard. “You heard Albus, I’ll wait for you. Take as long as you need. It’s your only bath for the coming weeks.” Moody grinned an eerie smile, too pleased at thought of their future discomfort. “Pine Fresh.” Once the password was spoken, a gentle _click_ sounded in the uncomfortable silence.

_Finally!_

Finally, they could wash themselves until their hearts are content.

* * *

 

The Prefects’ Bathroom was everything they had dreamed of. A large bathing pool lined with golden taps, some shiny showers to one side, a stained-glass mermaid decorating one of the walls for them to admire as they soak and all the bathing necessities they would ever need. 

“This is perfect.” Shinohara commented, his eyes shining with delight at the sight that was presented before him. First stop, the showers**. A quick scan of the room revealed no lockers to place their clothes in, only an empty shelf. _Not so perfect but it would do._

Shinohara shrugged off his CCG coat before hooking his fingers beneath the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head, leaving him bare-chested. Glancing over to the others, Shinohara observed as Amon removed his own shirt while Eyepatch waited beside him. The ghoul’s silver eye darted nervously between Amon and Shinohara, a raised hand fiddling with the zipper on his mask’s neck.

Shinohara paused and stared in bewilderment. _Was Eyepatch going to take his mask off? In front us? He knows we’re part of the CCG._

“Eyepatch?” Amon asked the ghoul, concerned, having noticed the position of his hand. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yes, it’s about time. You trust Shinohara, right?” Amon nodded. “Then he should see my face too.”

 _‘Too? What does he mean by-’_ Shinohara wasn’t able to finish the thought as sound of a zipper echoed off the bathroom walls. He watched with wide eyes as the ghoul’s fingers curled around the leather mask and carefully removed it. The youthful face of the young male was revealed and all Shinohara could think of was how innocent and _human_ the boy looked.  

When Eyepatch opened both his eyes, Shinohara noted how the ghoul’s right eye appeared to be perfectly functional, matching the silver hues of the left eye effortlessly. _Then why cover it? Why the eyepatch when both of them are fine?_

 Two striking silver eyes met his and Shinohara was stunned to see a subtle smile curving the ghoul’s lips.

Fabric rustled and pooled at their feet as Amon and Shinohara stripped themselves of their remaining clothes. Eyepatch began removing his own black clothing, discarding them off to one side on the cold tiles and gently placing his mask on top of the pile he had created.

Shinohara found it was rather disconcerting to see the ghoul so naked, only the collar around his neck remained. It felt so strange to be around a ghoul while it was in such an exposed state.

The three of them stood beneath the warm spray of the showers, scrubbing their hair clean with the provided supplies and washing the sweat from their bodies with soap. Their worries were swept away with the water’s flow, the tension dripping away from their muscles and swirling into the drain below them. “Do you want me to wash your back for you, Ka-Eyepatch?” Amon offered.

“That would be great, thanks,” consented Eyepatch, turning around to present his back to Amon and inadvertently facing Shinohara as a result. “Do you want me to do yours too?”

“If that is fine with you, yes,” replied Amon as he wiped a sponge across the unmasked ghoul’s skin. Eyepatch closed his silver eyes and relaxed under Amon’s ministrations. Shinohara splashed his face under the pouring water in an attempt to distract himself from the extraordinary sight of a First Class ghoul investigator washing the back of a SS rated ghoul.     

When Shinohara glanced at them again, water dripping into his eyes, he saw the ghoul had stiffened. He noted Amon was now wiping the sponge across the ghoul’s lower back where the kakuhou resided. “What’s wrong?” Amon asked, worried. “Are you hurt somewhere?”

“No…” Eyepatch replied as he stood rigidly, his voice somewhat hoarse. “That area…is just… _very_ sensitive, you’re…pressing on it a bit hard. It feels…strange.”

Amon moved the sponge upwards to scrub at Eyepatch’s shoulder blades instead causing the ghoul to relax again. “How is this?”

“Mm-hmm. Better.”

If Shinohara thought the sight of an investigator washing a ghoul’s back unusual, then the sight of a ghoul washing said investigator’s back shouldn’t be any stranger…right? Apparently not.

It was downright _bizarre._

“Good?” Asked the ghoul, drawing the sponge across Amon’s back.

“Yes…thanks.”

Shinohara tipped his head up so that the water droplets could splash against his face once again. Peeking through his watery eyelashes, he could see the remorseful glances the ghoul kept sending at the scar on Amon’s shoulder.

“Shinohara, do you want me to wash your back for you once Eyepatch is done with mine?” Offered Amon, opening his eyes to meet Shinohara’s with a questioning gaze.

“Please, if you would.”

Once all three of them had washed, feeling cleaner and better than they had in days, they stood before the large pool. Amon twisted a few of the taps, testing each one to see what they did. One released a stream of pink bubbles that couldn’t be popped, another a blue soapy liquid that _glowed_ while rose petals flowed from the tap beside it. Amon had turned that last one off as fast as he possibly could, blushing in embarrassment.

“Aha! Found it,” declared Amon, a few more squeaks met their ears as the investigator turned the tap until a steady torrent of warm water flowed into the pool beneath it. The bath filled within seconds, far quicker than something of its size had any right to. _Must be magic…_

With some further experimenting, they soon discovered a tap that produced white frothy foam and another with a scent that reminded them of the mineral hot springs in Japan. Once satisfied, the two investigators and the ghoul lowered themselves gradually into the bath’s water.

Shinohara sighed blissfully as the water’s heat enveloped his body in its welcoming embrace. A comfortable silence fell around them as the soaked in the warmth, calming them.

_KA-BANG!_

They flinched. The loud noise shattered their peace and they twisted around to send disapproving glares at the culprits.

 _Click…_ The soft sound of the door locking was followed by the squeaking rubber soles of shoes on polished tiles. 

“Hang on. Do we have some company today, dear brother?” A voice echoed in the quiet bathroom, speaking English.

“Indeed we do, brother dear,” a second voice replied.

“Do you know what this means, Fred?”

“That we execute Plan A, George?”

 “You know me so well.”

“Of course I do, I’ve been with you since birth.”

The figures approached, steam parting to reveal a pair of identical ginger-haired twins with an identical set of grins on their freckled faces. One of the twins’, either Fred or George, expression morphed from mischievous to shocked to awe. “Wicked! Are those eye contacts or does your eye really look like that?” Pointing to Eyepatch’s left eye.

Shinohara followed the teenager’s finger to the ghoul and was astonished to see that Eyepatch had only _one_ activated kakugan. _A one-eyed ghoul._ Eyepatch’s crimson iris looked small in the wide expanse of black that surrounded it as the ghoul stared uncomprehendingly at the ginger-haired boy.

The moment comprehension dawned on the ghoul’s face, Eyepatch’s eyes widened further in realisation before he slapped a black-nailed hand over the left side of his face to hide his eye. Eyepatch remained silent as a minute passed by, the twins’ smiles slipped from their faces as their disappointment showed. “…real,” the ghoul mumbled, too quietly for anyone to hear.

“What was that, my friend?” George…or was it Fred prompted, grinning again.

“It’s real,” repeated Eyepatch, more loudly and clearly in accented English, “it’s called a kakugan.”

“Kakugan, you say?” The twins traded glances. “Didn’t our dear little brother mention something like that?”

“He did,” the other twin nodded, stroking his chin theatrically. “That’s something that…” The twin’s eyes trailed down from Eyepatch’s unusual white hair to the metal collar clasped around his neck. “…ghoul had.”

“No way,” one of the twins gasped.

 _“Yes_ way!” The other exclaimed excitedly. “You’re that ghoul our ickle Ronnikins and his friends have been gossiping about!”

“It’s not just them, it’s the whole school! _Everyone_ in Hogwarts has been talking about the ghoul in the Care of Magical Creatures classes. It’s the only topic that can compete with the Triwizard Tournament,” the first twin chatted enthusiastically.

“A _hot_ topic, one might say,” the other joked, elbowing his brother.

“That reminds me,” began the first twin as the two of them started shedding their clothing. “There’s been a lot of rumours flying around lately and we were wondering-”

“-If you could tell us what is true-” The second twin continued, his voice was muffled as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“-And what isn’t,” the first twin finished, grinning widely as he stepped into the pool alongside his brother, lowering himself into the water opposite Eyepatch and Amon. “I heard you bit a poor ickle Hufflepuff’s hand, is that true?”

“Yes, but I didn’t want to I was-”

“Then there’s that rumour about the time you busted out of a cage during a lesson and attacked everyone,” interrupted a ginger-haired twin.

“I didn’t attack _everyone,_ I-” Eyepatch’s answer was cut short once again when the second twin interjected him, eyes sparkling. 

“Oh! And the one when you had a tea party with a vampire, except you weren’t drinking tea.”

The unexpected absurd rumour caught the ghoul and the investigators off guard. “Eh?”

 “Ack! I almost forgot about the story how you arm-wrestled with the Hungarian Horntail and won!”

 “Er, _what?_ I did not-” Eyepatch futilely tried to correct the twin, only succeeding in getting interrupted yet _again._

“How about when they fed you a full-grown mountain troll? What did it taste like? Is it as gross as it sounds?”

Amon and Shinohara were surprised to see Eyepatch’s expression twist into something they haven’t witnessed on the young ghoul before, a grimace. “I’ve never eaten a-”

“I heard you ate Snape’s heart and that’s why he’s so heartless. Is that true?”

“Of course not, I wouldn’t-” Eyepatch protested, his Japanese accent thickening.

“Did you enjoy it? Or was his heart too tasteless for you? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.”

“I already said I didn’t eat his-” Eyepatch growled, the red veins around his kakugan pulsing as the ghoul’s frustration grew.

“Then there’s that time when you used your tentacles to arm-wrestle with the Giant Squid,” one of the twins exclaimed, his brother nodding profusely in agreement.

“Can you show us your tentacles too?!” They both asked, voices in complete sync with each other, eyes glittering enthusiastically.

 _“That’s enough_ ,” scolded Amon and on the edge of his peripheral vision, he could see Kaneki throwing him a grateful look with his mismatched eyes. “You’re riling Eyepatch up with all these ridiculous rumours. Where on earth did you even come across these outlandish stories?”

The pair of identical twins appeared somewhat sheepish under Amon’s admonishing words for one fleeting moment before their grins returned, brighter than ever. “Why the Hogwarts’ rumour mill of course!” Twin one crowed.

“Best place to hear ‘em!” Twin two added, winking cheekily.

“Ahh, the good times…” Twin one mused, followed by a melodramatic sigh.

 A peaceful quiet fell over the bathing men, interrupted sporadically by the sound of soft splashing each time one of them shifted their position in the water. As the minutes ticked by, the water’s magically continuous heat lulled them with its comforting warmth, gradually causing them to grow drowsy.

A loud splash signalled Shinohara’s exit from the bath, Amon and Eyepatch following him shortly after. “We’ve been here long enough and as much I want to stay here, it is best that we get going now,” announced Shinohara as he dried himself off. “We’ve already kept Moody waiting for quite a while already.”

The noisy clanking of metal resounded in the bathroom, cutting into their conversation and notifying Shinohara that Eyepatch had now begun to dry himself too.

 _“Moody?_ You mean _Mad-Eye_ Moody? Why is he waiting for you?” One of the twins questioned, pryingly.

“He’s our escort,” answered Amon, Shinohara noted how his friend had already finished dressing himself and was now towelling his dark hair.

“Why would you need an escort? You’re professors, aren’t you? Or at least equivalent to one,” the second twin asked, his ginger eyebrows furrowed. 

“This is our first time in the castle,” informed Shinohara, giving the twins at least some of the story. He finished buttoning his coat and turned to check on how dressed his companions were. Eyepatch was busy adjusting the leather mask into a more comfortable position on his face. Shinohara observed as the iron collar magically widened enough for the ghoul to zip the mask closed before shrinking until it was once again sitting snugly against his neck.

Eyepatch fiddled with the collar for a moment longer, then as if sensing Shinohara’s gaze, lifted his white-haired head to meet his eyes. One right eye, now concealed by the black leather eyepatch and one left eye like a thundercloud of swirling grey that glinted with a silver lining.

Even with the eerie mask concealing the ghoul’s identity, Shinohara could still picture the boy’s youthful face vividly. A face so human hidden beneath the unnerving mask.

Then there were the mismatched eyes. _A single kakugan…_

_A one-eyed ghoul…_

_“Half-human and half-ghoul.”_ Eyepatch’s words echoed in Shinohara’s mind.

 _One-eyed ghouls are half-human and half ghoul. That means Eyepatch is…_ Shinohara could see the moment that the ghoul had noticed what he had realised. Eyepatch blinked and titled his head, thoughtful, before subtly shaking his head in a way that Shinohara interpreted as: _‘Later. Not now.’_

“Don’t forget to visit us again sometime!” Chirped Fred (or was it George?), bringing Shinohara’s attention back to the twins.

“It was very _ghoul_ to meet you, Eyepatch!” Exclaimed George (or was it Fred?), grinning at his own pun. “Next time, let us see your tentacles!”

Eyepatch gave the identical twins a small nod before following Amon and Shinohara to the bathroom door.

With one last silent farewell to the bathroom of his dreams, Shinohara gently closed the door behind him, already missing the humid warmth of the tiled room.

“Hurry up, I don’t have all day!” Mad-Eye Moody snapped, impatiently.

The journey back was uneventful despite all the magic flaunted around them and Shinohara wasn’t sure whether he should feel disappointed or relieved by this.

 _‘I should be thankful. There’s nothing worse than something unexpected to ruin your day.’_ He would know with all the experienced he has gained. Shinohara sighed as he collapsed onto the bed he had been so desperate to tidy earlier that day. 

 The last thing Shinohara saw before sleep ensnared him in its arms was the content glimmer in a pair of silver eyes, human and yet simultaneously ethereal. _I wonder…_

_Which side does Eyepatch consider himself as…?_

_A human…_

_Or a ghoul?_

* * *

Since then, with each passing day the one-eyed ghoul spent more time inside the tent until he began sleeping inside it too instead of the cage. Eyepatch had claimed the couch as his bed, since he was unwilling to take Amon’s despite all the investigator’s offers.

At first, the ghoul’s presence in the tent at night set Shinohara on edge, each rustle and huff causing his fingers to twitch. Shinohara had tossed and turned for hours on end, listening to Amon’s soft snores until sleep finally took pity on him and embraced him. His worries were soon proven to be unfounded as each morning Shinohara would wake up with his throat still intact and not a single bite-mark marring his skin.

Currently, Amon and Shinohara were eating their lunch at the table while Eyepatch busied himself with making coffee in the kitchen using the supplies the wizards had provided them.

“Would you like some coffee too, Amon?” Eyepatch asked, his soft voice had nearly gone unheard due to the loud whistling the kettle was making.

“Yes please,” was Amon’s polite reply.

“How do you want it?” The one-eyed ghoul questioned as the sound of water pouring reached their ears.

“With milk and sugar, I prefer it when it’s sweet.” A short, quiet hum told the investigators that the ghoul had heard Amon’s request.

“Investigator Shinohara, would you like me to make you some too?”

“Er…uh…sure,” stammered Shinohara, the ghoul’s unexpected offer surprising him. “I’ll have mine white too, but without sugar.” He had to stay healthy after all.

A few moments later, the ghoul emerged from the tent’s kitchen, a mug in each hand with a third one in the grip of a single, thin rinkaku. The mug in Eyepatch’s left hand was carefully placed before Shinohara while the mug in his right hand was given to Amon. An enticing aroma wafted towards Shinohara from his mug as he lifted it to take a cautious sip, mindful of its tongue-scalding temperature.

Shinohara raised his eyebrows as the rich flavour enveloped his tastebuds.

The coffee was astoundingly good.

Lifting his gaze from the warm cup in his hand, Shinohara observed as Eyepatch passed his own mug from the rinkaku limb into his now unoccupied hands, the kagune dissipating seconds afterwards like a ghost dissolving into the shadows of the night.

Eyepatch sank down into the chair beside Amon, opposite where Shinohara sat, sighing contently into his coffee mug. Since their trip to the castle, Eyepatch had taken to spending every moment inside the tent with his mask off. As a result, every smile and every frown upon his youthful face was displayed for them to see.

Upon noticing Shinohara’s prolonged stare, the ghoul’s lips twitched upwards into an amused, gentle curve. “Still not used to it?” Eyepatch queried, a knowing glint in both of his silver eyes.

The ghoul didn’t need to elaborate for the investigator to understand what he was referring to. “No, I’m not,” agreed Shinohara. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”

Usually the sight of an unmasked ghoul was often accompanied by a blaze of bloodlust within their kakugan, their mouths frothing with hunger and desperation. It was commonly seen in low ranked ghouls, mostly C rated or B rated.

A living, unmasked SS rated ghoul sitting so unruffled and peaceful before them, without a hint of malevolence in his eyes…

It was a rare sight indeed.

A comfortable silence filled the magical tent as they sipped their coffee, enjoying the flavours that the ghoul had so skillfully extracted from the coffee beans. A thought crossed Shinohara’s mind, a question that had been plaguing him for days. “Eyepatch…” At the sound of his alias leaving Shinohara’s lips, the ghoul lifted his head so that he could meet the investigator’s eyes over the rim of his mug. “Were you…born as a one-eyed ghoul…or were you artificially created?”

Eyepatch paused, staring back at Shinohara for one long moment before slowly lowering his mug and setting it onto the table. “I’m curious too, now that you’ve mentioned it,” commented Amon, straightening in his seat as his interest in the conversation peaked abruptly. “You’ve never told me your story, Ka-Eyepatch.”

“My story?” Eyepatch repeated, his gaze drifting back to the mug on the table before him as a wry, bitter smile twisted his lips. “My story is a tragedy.” When the investigators continued to remain silent, listening closely, the ghoul continued. “In the beginning, no, I wasn’t born as a ghoul but rather a human. I was an ordinary literature student who loved reading and spending time with his childhood best friend, Hide.”

 _Hide? Does he mean Nagachika Hideyoshi? That part-timer at the CCG?_ Both Amon and Shinohara were familiar with Nagachika from their various encounters in the office.

“Everything changed the day I met Rize…if I never went on that date with her…if I wasn’t tricked into escorting her home…I wouldn’t…my life would be…” Eyepatch trailed off, muttering to himself too quietly and indiscernibly for them to understand. When the ghoul raised his head to meet their gazes, he asked in a much clearer voice: “I’m sure you have both heard of the ghoul known as the Binge Eater, correct?”

“Yes, of course,” replied Amon, giving the ghoul a brief nod.

“We’ve been looking into the Binge Eater’s case for a while now and we’ve had little progress with it,” informed Shinohara. “How is the Binge Eater related to your story?”

“Rize…she was the ghoul known as the Binge Eater,” at hearing these words, Amon and Shinohara’s eyes widened. “When she tried to devour me, some steel beams fell down on us and we were taken to Kanou General Hospital. They told me that Rize was killed when she crushed under the steel beams and had transplanted her organs into me without consent. Those organs…were not kidneys or any other kind of human organ…it was Rize’s kakuhou.”

 “An artificially created one-eyed ghoul...a human turned into a half-ghoul,” murmured Amon, comprehension lighting in his eyes. “So it _is_ possible…”

“I remember hearing about an incident involving steel beams a few months ago on the news. The fuss didn’t last very long but they did mention the student’s name…” Shinohara trailed off as he struggled to recall the name from his memory. Amon leaned closer, his stare piercing into Shinohara as he waited in high anticipation.

Eyepatch watched him silently, his gaze fixed and unwavering. When Shinohara looked up, their eyes met and a memory of innocent grey eyes, so full of life, re-ignited inside his mind. A name clicked into place, the missing piece he had been searching for.

 _“Kaneki Ken,”_ whispered Shinohara, almost breathlessly. He saw the recognition in the half-ghoul’s eyes and he _knew_ his assumption was correct. “I remember now, the student’s name was Kaneki Ken. If the incident you spoke of is the same incident that I had seen on the news, then you…Eyepatch, must be Kaneki Ken.”

“I am,” confirmed Kaneki as he dipped his head in acknowledgment.  

Shinohara was stunned. _Now he had a human name to go with the human face._

Everything about the way the ghoul had acted now made sense. The way he had refused to eat, how he held a unique kind of understanding of humans which other ghouls lacked and all of the strange nonsensical things he had said.

He was once _human_ like them.

A human who had experienced a change unlike any other.

He must have suffered greatly. _More than one his age should._

He must have been horrified. _No…horrified would be an understatement._

He must have questioned his humanity. _He could still be questioning it._

How does a one-eyed ghoul live in this world of theirs? Where do they belong?

With ghouls?

With humans?

Both?

Shinohara couldn’t even begin to imagine how difficult it must have been for Kaneki since his life had been turned upside down. He could only hope that it would get better for the white-haired boy.

_‘Let’s hope that the rest of Kaneki’s story is much happier tale.’_

* * *

“Amon, why isn’t Kaneki with you?” Shinohara asked his friend who stood beside him, empty handed, “I know you don’t enjoy holding his chain but the lesson has already started. The students are all here.”

Amon blinked and turned to see that, yes, the students were indeed all there. A group of third year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Ever since that lesson when Eyepatch had bitten that little third year Hufflepuff, this particular group of students had looked at Eyepatch in terror and always stood as far away from the chained ghoul as possible.

The poor kid who Kaneki had bitten never returned, having chosen to drop out from the elective course rather than face his fear again. Amon didn’t blame the kid (or Kaneki for that matter), he had known many investigators who had a nasty encounter with a ghoul and never recovered from it.

“Amon, where is he?” Questioned Shinohara.

“I left him in the tent to finish reading his book. I told him that the class would start soon but I don’t think he heard me,” replied Amon, sheepishly, as he ran a hand through his dark hair. “I’ll go and fetch him now.”

Just as Amon began to move towards the tent, the flap flew open and a white-haired figure emerged.

_With no mask._

 The students gawked.

Without the mask, the ghoul looked like any other human. In fact, the only things that gave him away as the ghoul that they had been studying was the collar around his neck, the chain leash draped over his shoulders and his pure white hair.

Upon seeing the gaping students, Eyepatch froze, his eyes widening.

“Eyepatch,” said Amon and when the half-ghoul’s silver eyes flicked over to him, the investigator raised a hand to cover his right eye.

 _“Oh.”_  The expression of dawning comprehension that Kaneki made was priceless. Amon struggled to supress the smile that threatened to make itself known on his own face.

“Merlin’s beard! Where’s yer mask?” Hagrid exclaimed, shocked.

 “In the tent?” Kaneki replied in English, posing the answer as a question rather than a statement. He had gotten so comfortable walking around in the tent without his mask on that the thought to put it on again hadn’t even crossed his mind. “I could go and get it, if you’d like.”

“No. Tha’ won’t be necessary,” a gleeful grin stretched beneath Hagrid’s bushy beard as his beady eyes sparkling with excitement. “This will do perfectly. Now go on. Go an’ stand with Mr. Amon.”

After sending Hagrid a puzzled expression, Kaneki did as he was told and took his usual space beside the investigator. Both Amon and Kaneki waited for the professor to prompt the investigator to take hold of the chain, as he often did before a lesson.

It never came.

“See? There’s nothin’ to be afraid of, the ghoul won’t harm yeh,” comforted Hagrid, soothingly.

“It w-w-will! It already b-b-bit my f-friend!” Stuttered one of the Hufflepuffs.

“We told you before it was because Eyepatch hadn’t been fed. He was hungry and your friend was reckless,” clarified Amon. “He won’t bite any of you again, I promise.” A few of the students looked relieved upon hearing the investigator’s words while the others continued to cower with fright.

“W-why aren’t you h-holding the chain?!” A Gryffindor cried out, pointing a shaky finger at Eyepatch’s leash.

“I’m scared,” whined a young student, eyes watery. “I don’t want to be eaten!”

Out of the corner of Amon’s eye, the investigator saw Kaneki’s eyes slide shut as his lips twisted into a pained frown of dejection. Amon placed a hand on Kaneki’s shoulder, supportive and comforting. “He won’t eat you and he doesn’t want to. Am I right, Eyepatch?”

 “Yes…” Eyepatch muttered, his disheartened gaze fixed on the ground below him.

“You see?” Amon gave Kaneki a reassuring pat on the shoulder and felt the tension in the half-ghoul’s shoulders begin to dissipate. “Eyepatch is _not_ the ravenous, bloodthirsty monster that you think he is.” Beneath his hand, Amon felt Kaneki quiver, a small tremor that would have went unnoticed had Amon removed his hand. _Does he…does he think of himself as a monster?_

“Kaneki…” Amon murmured quietly, at a volume only the half-ghoul could hear. “You are not a monster.” The trembling ceased as Kaneki straightened his posture, wiping an arm across his eyes. “Why don’t you show them something fun so that they can see it too?”

Kaneki nodded and slowly released his kagune, covering his kakugan with his left hand so that he didn’t frighten the young students any further. Amon only had a brief second to wonder what the half-ghoul was going to do with the kagune when something warm wrapped around his waist, cutting his train of thought short.

“E-Eyepatch!” Yelped Amon, startled, as he was lifted into the air. Gasps and shrieks filled the clearing as the students gaped in horror at the investigator held captive by the scaly rinkaku coiled around his waist like a crimson python.

Worried that his friend might be in danger, Shinohara approached the half-ghoul and asked, “What are you doing to Amon, Eyepa-AH?!” His question morphed into an undignified shout as he too, was lifted into the air.

“This wasn’t what I had in mind when I said ‘ _fun’_ …” Amon grumbled, Kaneki smirked.

“Eyepatch?! _Eyepatch!_ Put us down!” Shinohara ordered, squirming in the kagune’s grip while his hands attempted to peel the coiled Rc muscle away from his body. As Shinohara struggled, he absently noted how unexpectedly soft the kagune felt beneath his fingertips and how loosely wrapped the rinkaku was around him. _‘Kaneki is being very gentle with us…’_ At that thought, he stilled and calmed down, dangling in the ghoul’s grip alongside Amon.

The students’ screams died down as one by one they realised that the investigators were still alive and unharmed. A few heartbeats later, the unmasked ghoul gently lowered Amon and Shinohara back down, his rinkaku limbs only slithering away once he was certain their feet were touching the ground.

 “Does anyone else want a go?” Kaneki asked in accented English, his voice soft and a slight smile gracing his lips.

“M-me! I do!” One shy Gryffindor called out, cautiously stepping closer to the white-haired ghoul. A scarlet scaled rinkaku tentatively wound around the student’s waist, its unanticipated warmth causing the Gryffindor to gasp in surprise. “I-It’s warm!”

The rinkaku instantly recoiled, hovering hesitantly over the teenager’s side.

“Is it too warm?” Kaneki questioned, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.

“No, it’s nice!” The student beamed at Kaneki, bright eyes sparkling with excitement. “Your kagune is _so_ _cool!”_ Seeing that the teen didn’t mind, Kaneki’s rinkaku returned to wrap around the student before slowly raising the limb. “Wow! It’s almost like riding a broomstick!”

“Ooh! I want a go too!” Another student squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Amon and Shinohara watched the strange display from the sidelines with fond eyes as the human students played with the half-ghoul.

 _What would their_ _co-workers at the CCG think if they saw this?_

One of the teens tugged a rinkaku limb eagerly, laughing when it picked him up, now fearless in Kaneki’s presence. Amon smiled at seeing the joyful glimmer in Kaneki’s silver eye.

 _‘They wouldn’t believe their eyes,’_ he mused.

* * *

As always, the temperature was perfect inside the tent at night, keeping them comfortable as they drifted into unconsciousness. Kaneki nuzzled deeper into the plush couch with a content sigh, thankful that he was allowed to sleep there instead of the unforgiving cold floor of his cage. With each inhale, a sweet human scent filled his sensitive nose, emanating from Amon’s coat and the pile of spare blankets which he rested beneath.

Somewhere across the room, Kaneki thought he heard the muffled rustling of fabric, like someone had opened the tent’s flap. _Perhaps Amon or Shinohara needed to answer the call of nature?_

Shortly after, a muted thud was heard and Kaneki noticed a different scent in the air. A human scent. It wasn’t Amon’s, nor was it Shinohara’s, yet somehow the scent was oddly familiar. _Where had he encountered that scent before? Whose scent is it?_

Kaneki felt the hairs on the nape of his neck raise as he sensed someone looming over his resting figure. _That scent!_ His eyes snapped open, mismatched as his kakugan flared, its single crimson iris glowing eerily in the dark shadows of the tent.

Before the intruder could even raise his wand, Kaneki flipped out of the blankets, landing on the sofa’s headrest in a neat crouch. Perched there, he glared at the wizard, eyes locking onto his target.

 _“Moody,”_ he snarled, daring the wizard to try and attack him.

 _“Ghoul.”_ Mad-Eye Moody sneered in kind, a maniac grin on his gnarled lips as he aimed his wand at the half-ghoul.

 _Why aren’t the investigators confronting him too? Were they still asleep?_ Kaneki knew from experience that the ghoul investigators were light sleepers, always on alert for any attacks. “Amon! Shinohara! _Hey!”_  

No response.

While Kaneki was distracted by the absence of his comrades, the wizard made his move.

_“Imperio.”_

A yellow mist was sprayed at Kaneki***, catching him unaware and filling his nose with a burning, heady scent. Instantly, Kaneki felt the most wonderful feeling envelop him, it was like he was floating in a dream. Every single one of his thoughts and worries were gently wiped away, leaving nothing but a vague feeling of untraceable happiness. He stared dazedly up at the tent’s floral-patterned ceiling, only dimly aware that he had fallen backwards off of the sofa.

Mad-Eye grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: The Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament has begun. The crowd’s cheering rings loud in their ears as the Champions enter the maze one by one. Why is Kaneki acting so strangely?


	7. Let's Talk Again Someday

The moment Amon regained consciousness, he groaned. Groggily, he blinked his eyes, wincing when he felt the painful throbbing in his temples. “What…?” His voice cracked and he coughed to clear his throat before trying again, still hoarse despite his efforts. “What happened? We didn’t…drink last night…Shinohara?” _Why did he feel like he had the world’s worst hangover?_ Amon struggled to recall drinking anything that could be considered even remotely alcoholic.

“Amon?” Shinohara asked, his voice somewhat slurred from sleep. “What are you doing on the floor?”

“Huh?” Confused, Amon scanned his surroundings and discovered that Shinohara’s observation was correct. He was slumped on the floor beside his bed and for the life of him he couldn’t remember how it had happened.

Blearily, Amon’s gaze drifted to the tent’s magical clock, his eyes widening upon seeing the time displayed. _‘4pm?!’_  They had already slept through the entire morning and almost half of the afternoon! Why didn’t Kaneki wake them?

A hand entered Amon’s vision and he gladly took it, accepting Shinohara’s aid in helping him stand. “Thanks.”

“No problem. How are you feeling?” Shinohara queried, concerned as Amon swayed slightly on his feet.

“Like I’ve had too much to drink last night. I’ll survive,” replied Amon, honestly. A quick glance around the room revealed a distinct lack in presence of a certain white-haired half-ghoul. “Where’s Kaneki?” Amon approached the couch Kaneki had claimed as his bed, and stood before it with Shinohara by his side.

It was empty. Only the blankets and Amon’s coat remained.

Amon brushed his fingertips against the grey material of his old coat, remembering the night he had lent it to the one-eyed ghoul. “Amon…he’s over here,” said Shinohara from where he was standing next to the sofa, pointing at something hidden behind it. Upon seeing the half-ghoul on the floor, Amon’s eyes widened.

Two mismatched eyes stared unseeingly at the ceiling, one eye like a swirling grey cloud contrasting with the black haze in the eye beside it. There was a disturbingly peaceful smile on his unmasked face.

“Kaneki?” Amon asked, worried, as he crouched beside the white-haired boy.

No response…

Amon waved a hand in front of Kaneki’s glazed eyes and snapped his fingers.

…Not even a single blink.

“What do you think happened to him?” Shinohara questioned, gently nudging the half-ghoul with his foot. _“Something_ must have happened last night. You’re not the only one with a killer headache, Amon.”

 _‘Yes…something must have happened…but what?’_ Amon pondered, his gaze wandered from his untidy bedcovers to his briefcase lying haphazardly on its side, half open as though he had tried to grab it while suddenly being ambushed by a ghoul. _Huh?_ He always takes good care of his quinque’s container, he would _never_ leave it lying around like that. It’s precious to him.

_A surprise attack…_

_Someone attacked them…_

_…Who?_

A spark flickered to life somewhere in the back of Amon’s mind and then it all clicked into place as memories rapidly flashed before his wide eyes.

He remembered.

_An electric blue eye spinning to a stop, staring into their sleeping forms. He felt its piercing gaze._

_A shiver crawling up his spine. His instincts shouting._

_Move!_

_He lunged for his briefcase, Shinohara’s and Kaneki’s names on the tip of his tongue._

_His fingers curl around the cold handle._

_An invisible force collides into his chest and he braces himself to keep his balance._

_“Kaneki! Shinohara!” He shouts but no sound escapes him. The spell had_ muted _him._

_A second spell races towards him, too fast for him to dodge. From the corner of his eye, Amon could see Shinohara yelling noiselessly. There was a look of horror in his friend’s eyes as Amon felt the spell make contact with him, instantly draining the energy from his body._

_As the world fades into the darkness, Amon sees the vicious glint of glee in Moody’s eyes. He distantly feels his knees give out followed by the weightless sensation of his falling body._

“It…it was Moody. Shinohara, _he_ was the one who did _this!”_ Amon growled.

 _“Why_ would he do this to us? What does he have to gain by doing this?” Questioned Shinohara, troubled.

“I’m not sure. That’s what we need to find out,” answered Amon, grimly. A pensive silence enveloped them, heavy and oppressive.

When the tent flap opened, it was as though the heavy atmosphere-which had been pressing down on them-had glided out through the opening like a shy child silently slipping through a gap in the door.

“Are yeh all up?” They heard Hagrid’s voice boom before they saw his towering figure enter the tent. “It’s going to be a big day fer yeh all!” 

“A special class?” Shinohara guessed, trading confused looks with Amon.

“No, o’ course not! Haven’t yeh been told already?” Upon seeing their blank expressions and furrowed eyebrows, Hagrid added. “The Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament starts today at sundown!”

 _“What?!”_ Exclaimed both Amon and Shinohara, in sync.

 “It starts in a few hours so we need teh get Eyepatch down to the Quidditch pitch before everyone arrives. Usually, we get everything prepared before the task starts, like the other magical creatures tha’ are in the Third Task, but since we’ve been using the ghoul in the lessons, we left him until last minute,” informed Hagrid, cheerfully.

What about their plan to escape?!

_“Is there any way that you can disguise the portkey, so that no-one gets suspicious?” Amon asked the trio of magical teenagers before him._

_“Portkeys are often objects that muggles-I mean non-magical people- consider as trash. Like a punctured football, a rusty spoon, an old, muddy boot or-”_

_“An empty bottle,” interjected Harry, adding to Hermione’s list._

_“Food wrappers.” Ron supplied._

_“How about a torn book?” Shinohara queried._

_“Yes, that would work…” Hermione confirmed, humming thoughtfully, then her eyes lit up as the comprehension dawned on her. “Oh! I see! Since I’ve been bringing Eyepatch so many books lately, it wouldn’t be suspicious if I brought you the portkey in the form of a book.” Shinohara nodded._

_“What about the wards?” Eyepatch enquired, rubbing a phantom pain on his forehead, recalling the time he had escaped and ran face-first into an invisible magical barrier._

_“Those wards aren’t made to prevent magic-users from getting in or out. They’re made to keep muggles and ghouls in,” explained Hermione. “The portkey would get you through them with no trouble at all.”_

_“Sounds like a plan,” commented Amon, grinning._

Amon and Shinohara could do nothing but watch as ‘Plan A’ crumbled before their eyes _. Could they rely on ‘Plan B’ instead?_

_The smile faded as Amon’s lips straightened into a grim line, serious. “What about our backup plan? We can’t put all of our eggs into one basket.”_

_“The only way to get through the wards would be when Dumbledore allows it: on the day of the Third Task. It’s risky…but…” Hermione trailed off, her eyes burning with a fiery determination. “Eyepatch would most likely be led there by his chain…if you were the one to hold it, Mr. Amon, all you would have to do is...”_

_“Let go…” Amon finished._

_“We’ll meet up elsewhere, like in the Forbidden Forest, I could give you the portkey then,” the young witch suggested._

_“What if you haven’t finished it? What then?”_

_“That won’t happen, I’ll make sure of it.”_

No. It wouldn’t work. Not anymore. Not while Eyepatch is like _that._

How could they escape now?

* * *

Transporting Kaneki to the Third Task’s location was no easy feat as Amon and Shinohara quickly discovered. Every word they said to the, now masked, half-ghoul went unheard as Kaneki stood rooted to the tent’s carpet, staring blankly his feet.

When Amon gave the boy’s arm a gentle tug, Kaneki promptly collapsed onto the floor, boneless. “Kaneki? _Hey,_ Eyepatch. Get up, we need to go.” Giving up on waiting for a response from the white-haired ghoul, Amon draped one of Kaneki’s arms around his shoulders before pulling the boy up onto his feet again. As Amon took a step forward, he realised that Kaneki’s feet were dragging along the ground like he had forgotten how to walk, making the investigator’s task twice as difficult as it should be.

Seeing his friend struggling, Shinohara sighed and moved to help Amon support Kaneki by taking the boy’s other arm. “Need a hand?” Shinohara offered, amused as he adjusted his hold around the young ghoul.

“Thank you, Shinohara,” said Amon, gratefully. Together, the three of them shuffled through the tent’s exit to join the waiting wizards.

 “Good afternoon, Investigators,” greeted Dumbledore, “Alastor, Rubeus and I shall be escorting you to the maze. This spell will allow you to pass through the wards today,” as expected, there was a bright flash of light as the wizard elegantly waved his wand. “Please follow me.”

Once Dumbledore had turned his back on them, Amon and Shinohara traded looks after throwing Moody suspicious glances. If Mad-Eye noticed their staring, he didn’t show it, instead he whirled around to face them. “Don’t let go of that chain. I’ll know if you do,” warned Moody, tapping his prosthetic eye which was locked onto Kaneki’s limp form.

A tense silence fell over the group making the two investigators feel uneasy and unsettled. It didn’t help that Amon could feel Moody’s unnerving gaze stabbing into the back of his head as he and Shinohara hauled Kaneki’s slack body through the forest.

Amon noted that the path they were taking was very different to the path they had taken on their journey to the castle. Once they arrived at the forest’s edge, a different-yet still very mystical- view awaited them.

A stadium, not unlike the Japanese football stadiums that both Amon and Shinohara were familiar with, stood tall and imposing before them. The surrounding fog was thick and shrouded protectively around the stadium as though it could hide it from their sight. Amon felt a shiver crawl down his spine as his instincts warned him to turn around _right now_ and head back to somewhere safe, _far away_.

“This way, quickly now, we don’t have much time,” urged Dumbledore, snapping the investigators out of their frozen stupor. They followed the wizards through the stadium’s entrance only to come face-to-face with a wall of foliage that stretched high into the darkening sky above them.

“What is this?” Shinohara whispered, breathless. “Shouldn’t there be a playing field in here?”

“Usually, yes, that is the case but for today’s task we have repurposed it,” explained Dumbledore, cordially, as he led them over to an open space beside a gap in the hedge. “This is where the champions will be entering the maze. For now, let’s get the ghoul inside before the audience arrives. Rubeus will show you where to put him.”

“I’ve got just the spot to put ‘im in,” boomed Hagrid, “Stay close to me now, we don’t want yeh to be getting lost.” The second they had stepped foot inside the maze, the world became ominously hushed. With a wall of dark leaves towering over them on either side, there was a rapidly growing feeling of claustrophobia in Amon’s throat, silently suffocating him with its stifling presence. _Something wasn’t right…it’s not safe…_

“…mon?”

_He needs to get out of there._

_“…ey…are….ight?”_

_He should take Kaneki and Shinohara with him before it is too late._

“Amon!” Shinohara shouted, cutting into Amon’s spiralling anxiety. Amon raised his head to meet the concerned gazes of Shinohara and Hagrid. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine, don’t worry,” reassured Amon, Shinohara’s expression displayed his disbelief at Amon’s answer prompting him to continue. “I just…have a bad feeling about this that’s all.” His fingers tightened in Kaneki’s black sleeve, his knuckles white. Shinohara nodded, an understanding expression taking over the features of his face. _Mado Kureo had always said to trust his instincts._

They took several winding turns, three lefts and four rights, until they came to a stop halfway down one of the longer pathways. “Here we are,” announced Hagrid, heartily. “Put ‘im down over here.”

Crouching, Amon and Shinohara carefully eased Kaneki’s limp form to slide down onto the grassy ground as they released him from their grip. Kaneki only stared blankly at them from where he was slumped upon the damp grass, his kakugan as misty as the fog that enshrouded the maze.

“Kaneki…snap out of it, we still need your help to escape,” murmured Amon, giving the half-ghoul one final worried look before he stood and joined the others in their journey back.

* * *

Amon and Shinohara searched the stadium’s empty stands for the best seats, seats that were high enough to provide them with a view to see inside the maze as well as being strategically placed near the aisles for an easy escape. Once they found their chosen seats, they settled down to anxiously wait for the Third Task to begin. It wasn’t long before the first student arrived and the two investigators were pleasantly surprised to see that it was Hermione who was making her way over to them.

“There you are, I was worried. We were following you the whole time through the forest but you didn’t try to escape.” They watched as Hermione rummaged inside her bag and withdrew a book from within. “Look, I finished the portkey. It won’t activate until I complete the spell on it. When you’re ready, I’ll start its timer, that way it’ll be easier for all three of you to grab hold of it before it leaves.”

“Thank you, Miss Granger, for helping us,” said Amon, sincerely.

Hermione smiled brightly in response, a light pink dusting her cheeks. “You’re welcome, Mr. Amon. I hope you get back home safely.” She then gasped softly, “Oh! I just remembered, you might want to use one of these.” The young witch began to dig inside her bag once again before bringing out what seemed to be two bizarre binoculars. Handing one to each of the investigators, she explained: “They’re called omnioculars, they’re like the muggle binoculars except omnioculars can also slow down, replay and give you a play-by-play breakdown too.”

“Sounds useful,” commented Shinohara as he and Amon examined the magical objects they were given. They watched as the champions arrived on scene with a group of adults, each with a luminous red star on their robes. Several minutes passed before the rest of the crowd arrived, excited chatter filled the air as the students filed into the stands. Ron soon joined them, taking a seat beside Hermione as he flashed them all an eager grin.

A loud, amplified voice interrupted the audience’s animated conversations, drawing everyone’s attention to the wizard standing before the podium. “Ladies and gentlemen, the _third_ and _final_ task of the _Triwizard Tournament_ is about to begin!”

“That’s Ludovic Bagman, he’s the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports,” informed Hermione, helpfully.

“Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, on eighty-five points each-Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!” The crowd cheers rang loudly in the investigators’ ears, almost deafening in their volume. “In second place, on eighty points- Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!”

A different section of the crowd-decked in crimson colours-on the other side of the stands, cheered proudly. “And in third place-Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!” More cheers followed Bagman’s statement, this time from a blue section of the stands. “So…on my whistle, Harry and Cedric! Three, two, one…”

 Bagman gave a short blast on his whistle, signalling the two Hogwarts champions to enter the daunting maze. Amon was shocked to see the hedges shift to close the gap once Harry had stepped foot into the maze, trapping the fourteen-year-old teen inside.

Holding the omnioculars up in front of his eyes, Amon scanned the magical maze in search of the eye-patched half-ghoul, looking for Kaneki’s tell-tale white hair. The dense fog obscured most of his view of the maze’s pathways turning what should be a quick, simple task into a time-consuming challenge. Vaguely, Amon heard a second shrill note of the whistle as he finally located the half-ghoul.

When the third whistle blew, Amon saw Kaneki rise onto his feet.

_The Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament has begun._

* * *

Everything is peaceful in Kaneki’s hazy mind. He feels calm, like he can let go of all his responsibilities and worries. He doesn’t need to worry about protecting them. He doesn’t need to think about anything. He only needs to bask in this wonderful, relaxing feeling.

Somewhere in a distant chamber of his empty brain, Mad-Eye’s voice disturbed his peace.

_Attack the champions…attack the champions…attack the champions…_

Mindlessly, Kaneki began to obey the voice, sprinting down the pathway as he chased the alluring, sweet scent of human meat.

 _‘Why should I?’_ Kaneki thought, skidding to a stop at a fork in the maze. He didn’t want to harm anyone.

_Attack them!_

Moody’s voice ordered and Kaneki felt an intense urge to comply. Gripping his hair, he tried to resist it.

“No!” He screamed.

_Attack them! NOW!_

The fog surrounding his brain thickened, instantly wiping every single thought of resistance from his mind. Kaneki absently noted that his body had taken off again, darting around each corner and dashing along the grassy corridors as his nose pinpointed the source of the nearest human scent.

Closest to the source, the delicious scent is overpowering causing him to drool. Kaneki is only distantly aware that he had pounced, his body numb to the feeling of flesh struggling in his hold.

 ** _‘You need to unzip your mask first, Kaneki. Then you can take a large bite of that delightful meat, ’_** a second voice advised, it sounded suspiciously like Rize. 

Yes…he should. Kaneki slowly raised a hand for his mask’s zipper. ‘No! That’s human meat! What am I doing?!’ Kaneki thought as a flash of panic spiked through the endless fog. It cleared his mind long enough to glimpse Harry’s terrified expression. ‘I don’t want to eat Harry!’ Kaneki internally screamed, alarmed.   

 ** _‘Don’t lie to yourself, Kaneki. We both know that’s not true. It’s been so long since you have tasted it…that soft sweet, human flesh. Look at those juicy thighs, don’t you want a bite?’_** The voice cooed. **_‘Go on. Eat. It’s all yours.’_**

“Yes…it’s all mine…This meat is all MINE!” Growled Kaneki, cackling loudly as he unzipped his mask.

_DON’T!_

Kaneki froze. It was Moody’s voice.

_Leave Harry Potter alone. Do NOT attack him! Do NOT eat him! LEAVE!_

**_‘Don’t listen to that mad fool, Kaneki. You want that meat, right? Don’t let him stop you,’_** the second voice argued.

_Don’t eat Harry Potter! Go! Go attack the other champions! NOW!_

‘Don’t eat Harry Potter?’ The thought echoed in his empty mind. ‘Harry…’ Kaneki remembered those wide horrified green eyes and instantly flipped backwards away from the human he had caught, sickened at how close he had come to eating the teen.

_LEAVE!_

This time, Kaneki was all too happy to obey as he sprinted off deeper into the foggy maze.

* * *

Amon and Shinohara watched from the stands, using their omnioculars, in confusion. Since they had woken, Kaneki had been acting strangely. First he was dazed and unresponsive, now he was tearing through the maze like a ravenous ghoul.

_This isn’t like Kaneki. Why was he doing this?_

From the seat beside him, Amon heard Hermione gasp. He turned his attention back to the maze and watched, perturbed, as Kaneki trapped Cedric Diggory in a dead-end. Between one blink and the next, the half-ghoul had grabbed one of the champion’s arms and twisted it.

Even from their distance in the stands, they could hear the pain-filled scream that was ripped from Cedric’s throat. The masked ghoul leaned in towards the human’s neck before pulling away and tugging his white hair as though he was fighting against himself. Amon and Shinohara both relaxed into their seats, sighing in relief as they watched Kaneki dash away, leaving the boy alive.

Moments later, Harry arrived on scene and sent up a shower of red sparks so that Cedric could be retrieved to receive the much needed medical attention he deserves.

Somewhere on the other side of the maze, they heard a distant shout. Twisting some of the brass knobs on his omnioculars, Amon zoomed in on the general area the noise had come from and scanned the pathways.

 The female champion, Fleur, was desperately throwing spells at the prowling half-ghoul. Each bolt of light harmlessly glanced off of Kaneki’s impervious body, much to the champion’s growing horror. When two pulsing, rinkaku limbs burst from Kaneki’s back, Fleur screamed. Within seconds, the half-ghoul had snapped the champion’s wand along with her wrist before taking off into the mist, distancing himself from the scene.

 _‘Snap out of it, Kaneki…’_ Amon frowned as he tracked the half-ghoul’s path to the Durmstrang champion. He could only hope that whatever that was forcing Kaneki to act like this is something that can be fought. _If it can…Amon knows that Kaneki would be able to win against it._

* * *

_Attack the champions…attack…attack…_

“Get out! Get out! GET OUT!” Kaneki shouts at the voice in his mind.

_Attack…attack…go back…knock her unconscious…go back…attack…_

“Shut up! Shut up! Get out of my mind or I’ll eat you!” He threatens, absently noting another human pinned beneath him.

_Leave Krum…you don’t need to attack him…leave…leave…_

**_‘Don’t listen to him, Kaneki. You can have a bite if you want. Those thighs look delectable, don’t you want to taste it?’_** Purred the second voice.

“No! Get out! Get OUT!” Kaneki yelled, his kagune thrashed wildly behind him, lacerating large areas the leafy hedges that were unfortunate enough to be inside the kagune’s range.

_Listen to me…listen to me…listen to me…_

“No! I won’t! I won’t! Go away!” He roared, willing the voice to leave him alone.

_Obey me…obey me…OBEY ME…_

Kaneki felt a strong pull that urged him to submit, to back down. To _obey._ He could feel his hold on his mind slipping and crumbling away as he fought to maintain his grip on it.

_Obey me!_

“No!”

Faces of his friends flashed before Kaneki’s eyes. Hide…Touka…and everyone at Anteiku…

…Amon and Shinohara.

 _“Kaneki…snap out of it, we still need your help to escape.”_ Amon’s words echoed in his mind, parting the fog and dispersing it.

_‘They need me…’_

Kaneki fell to his knees as the world became sharp and focused around him. The dew soaked his clothes as he trembled, still reeling from the shock of the spell he had been under. As he stood up, swaying on shaky legs, Kaneki felt a renewed sense of determination flare within him.

He curled his thumb over his index finger and cracked it.

Kaneki effortlessly scaled the tall hedge until he was perched on top of it, from there he leapt from hedge to hedge at speed that was only possible by a ghoul.

_‘I need to warn them.’_

* * *

The tense hush which had fallen upon the crowd was shattered as Amon saw Kaneki burst from the maze in a flurry of leaves causing the audience to scream in fear. Kaneki landed in a neat crouch by the podium, two of his four rinkaku limbs helping him balance through their contact with the damp grass beneath him. Amon and Shinohara were already on their feet as the wizards surrounded the half-ghoul, pointing their wands in warning.

At a close distance, Amon was able to observe the sharp glint in Kaneki’s kakugan and was relieved to see no sign of the haze which had previously clouded it. _He did it…_

Catching sight of the investigators, Kaneki’s gaze locked on to them as he announced, “Moody put me under a _spell_. He _forced_ me to attack the champions against my will!”

The wizards murmured and exchanged glances with each other, uncertain upon hearing the ghoul’s accusation of the accomplished auror.

“Don’t listen to the ghoul! Can’t you see that it’s lying? It only wants you to let your guard down so that it can eat you!” Mad-Eye growled.

 _“Liar.”_ Kaneki snarled, his voice cold and indifferent, glaring at the wizard as he cracked a second finger. He then pounced into the air, twisting out of the way of the flying spells as he aimed his kagune at the traitorous wizard.

“Eyepatch!” Shinohara barked, blocking the half-ghoul’s rinkaku with his quinque.

“Get out of my way, Shinohara.” Kaneki’s voice was low and his tone dark, filled with the promise of pain. _“Moody_ was forcing me to hurt them. Now _move.”_  

Kaneki’s left eye widened at something over Shinohara’s shoulder moments before the investigator felt himself being tackled to the damp earth below.

A flash of light whizzed over them, cutting through the air where Shinohara previously stood.

_“Crucio.”_

Moody’s second curse hit the half-ghoul directly in the eye, causing Kaneki to writhe and screech as his kagune lashed out aimlessly around him while he clawed at the ground beneath him.

 _“Crucio!”_ Moody exclaimed, gleeful at seeing the ghoul suffer. The spell collided with one of Kaneki’s ears causing him to gasp and convulse as a second wave of pain, unlike any torture he has experienced at Jason’s hands, tore through him.

Something bubbled over the area where the half-ghoul’s kakuhou resided. They watched as Kaneki’s rinkaku crumbled and cracked as he struggled to stand. A familiar mask formed over Kaneki’s already concealed face causing Shinohara’s eyes to widen in both horror and recognition. _“Centipede…”_

Two centipede-like kagune erupted from Kaneki’s kakuhou, writhing wildly as they joined the four crimson rinkaku.

The ghoul threw his head backwards and _laughed_ , crazed and maniacal.

 **“C-Centipedes…”** The half-kakuja muttered in a distorted voice, head tilting so that his kakugan eye could fix upon Moody’s form. Another wheezing, insane laugh. **“I can _f-feel_ it…CRawLING in m-my…E-EArrrs!” **

Alarmed, the wizards began shooting a barrage of spells at the ghoul, only to have every single one of them blocked by the impenetrable, segmented kagune. **“W-What is…is a thousand minus…s-seven?”** Centipede asked in Japanese, his kakugan eye gleaming wickedly.

 _CRACK._ Disappearing in a blur too fast for even a trained ghoul investigator’s eye to follow, the half-kakuja attacked.

Re-appearing behind Moody, the ghoul rammed two kakuja kagune into the wizard’s back, slamming him painfully into the ground. Something shattered. Laughing, Centipede stabbed one of his crimson rinkaku into each of the wizard’s limbs. **“A t-thousand…”** The ghoul trailed off as he leaned closer to the incapacitated auror to ask: **“…a-a thousand minus s-seven** … **i-is…what?”** Centipede raised his unoccupied kakuja kagune above Moody threateningly and poised them to strike. **“F-Fingers…a-and t-toes…in a b-bucket…”**

The ghoul’s body shuddered as he cackled, his kagune quivering. **“S-start…counting….a-a thousand minus…a thousand minus s-seven…k-keEP cOUNting…”**

To their horror and confusion, Moody’s skin began to bubble and morph. A knobbly hand twitches futilely, due to the wrist being pierced through by the tip of a rinkaku, reaching for something that wasn’t there. An electric blue eyes rolls erratically in its socket before locking onto a broken hip flask, its viscous contents oozing between the cracked fragments. Seconds later, the fake eye popped out as a real eye replaced it, while Moody’s wooden leg fell away with a loud _clunk_ so that a leg of flesh could regrow in its place. Long grey hair became short and straw-coloured as scarred skin became smooth pale-skin.

The crowd gasped.

“Crouch!” Someone exclaimed, recognising the wizard’s true form. “Barty Crouch Jr!”

 **“Centipedes…i-in my ears…”** Centipede cocked his head to one side, chuckling insanely. **“S-Sevens…a thousand m-minus seven…c-count…count!”** Seeing that the wizard-now revealed as Barty Crouch Jr-was refusing to count, Centipede tensed in preparation to strike.

“KANEKI!”

 The half-kakuja freezes upon hearing Amon shout his name, a flicker of recognition in his kakugan. **“A-A…mon?”** Kaneki’s hooked mask crumbles as his kagune dissipates and he blinks as his sanity returns to him. He leaps away from Crouch and lands beside the two investigators. “Amon…” 

Amon opened his mouth to respond but froze as he caught sight of Hermione and Ron waving at them, gesturing to the book in her hands. “It looks like our ticket home is ready.” He placed a steady hand on Kaneki’s shoulder, cutting off any apologies, worries, or questions the half-ghoul might have voiced. Amon patted Kaneki’s shoulder. “Come on…let’s get out of here.”

“Don’t let them escape!” Ludo Bagman ordered, spurring the other wizards into action. Amon and Shinohara were barely able to raise their quinque in time to block the oncoming volley of spells that sped after them. They were too far away from Hermione. _How were they going to reach the portkey now?_

Amon could only watch in dismay as one of the colourful spells raced towards his open side. He wouldn’t be able to block it in time. They would be re-captured and it would all be over for them. He might as well say goodbye to his memories now.

Something red and familiar flashed before his eyes, shielding him from the spell.

It was one of Kaneki’s rinkaku.

“Thanks,” said Amon, grateful, as he spared a brief glance over his shoulder in time to catch Kaneki’s nod. Out of the corner of his eye, Amon saw Hermione toss the portkey towards them. The book wheeled through the air, pages fluttering with every rotation it completed. _‘What is she doing?! That would never work.’_ Amon could see that the book’s flight was already falling a few metres too short of their reach. He wouldn’t be able to catch it anyway, not with how both of his hands were occupied by his quinque.

To Amon’s surprise and relief, just before the book could even graze the ground, a rinkaku limb swiped it out of the air. “Amon! Shinohara!” Kaneki shouted, frantically. Amon gritted his teeth as a one particularly powerful spell crashed into his quinque with the force of a battering ram.

Without taking his eyes off of the wizards, Amon lunged backwards, blindly throwing his hand out and hoping that he could touch the portkey in time. As Amon’s finger came into contact with the sharp corner of the book, Shinohara slammed his hand into the dusty cover mere seconds before all three of them felt a yank in their navels.

The world became a whirl of colours, swirling around them in a dizzying blur. Spinning and spiralling in an endless circle.

As the wave of nausea engulfed him, Amon closed his eyes knowing that when he opened them again they would be back in Tokyo.

* * *

Their arrival in Tokyo went unseen in the predawn darkness as they collided painfully into the hard concrete floor of a grungy alleyway. Groaning, Amon peeled his cheek away from the filthy floor while trying not to think too much on what sort of filth the alleyway had accumulated over the years, especially if they were unfortunate enough to have landed in the feeding grounds of a ghoul.

 Amon blinked as a hand entered his blurry vision, his eyes flicking up to focus on Kaneki’s soft silver eye. Grasping it, Amon allowed himself to be pulled onto his feet and muttered a grateful “Thanks, Kaneki.” The half-ghoul swayed shakily, still woozy from the portkey, and Amon felt the weight of an arm drape around his shoulders as Kaneki leaned on him.

Amon watched as Kaneki brought his free hand up to his ever-grinning mask, which had been skewed sideways from the journey, and re-adjusted it. Behind them, there was a grumbling moan as Shinohara pushed himself up from where he had fallen near an overflowing bin. “ _Argh.”_ Shinohara grimaced as he flicked something slimy off of his chin. Amon cringed in sympathy at his friend’s dilemma. “What I wouldn’t give for another soak in that magical bathroom…”

“Well…at least we made it here with everything still intact,” remarked Amon as the indigo sky gradually brightened into a canvas of pale blue and yellow, signalling dawn’s approach. Amon felt Kaneki tense beside him, concerned, he asked, “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m fine,” replied Kaneki, truthfully. Amon noted that the half-ghoul was staring at the alleyway entrance and followed his gaze, only to find it empty. “I can hear some people heading this way to investigate. It sounds like they heard our crash landing.”

Kaneki slipped away from Amon and began to back away into the shadows of the alley.

“Kaneki.” Amon called out, catching the half-ghoul’s attention. A single silver eye met his gaze, glittering in the dim lighting of the alleyway. “Let’s talk again someday.”

“I’ll look forward to it, Amon,” beneath the familiar mask, Amon knew that a warm smile was gracing Kaneki’s lips, matching the content glimmer in his eye. With a graceful leap, Kaneki sprang out of the alley and out of sight.

A few heartbeats later, they heard a familiar voice shout, “Investigator Amon! Investigator Shinohara!” Takizawa Seido, Mado Akira and Suzuya Juuzou rushed to meet them. “Where were you guys? You’ve been missing for over a month!” Seido exclaimed.

Amon and Shinohara exchanged looks. Smiling sheepishly, Shinohara said, “You wouldn’t believe us if we told you.” Getting kidnapped by a group of wizards and teaching classes filled with magical kids...even if they deal with ghouls on a daily basis, who would believe that?

“Tell us first, then we’ll say whether or not we believe you,” challenged Seido as the five of them began making their way towards the alley’s exit.

Just before Amon stepped foot onto the sunlit street, he glanced one last time over his shoulder. There on the rooftop, highlighted in the dawn’s bright rays and white hair ruffling in the early morning breeze, stood Eyepatch.

Amon raised a hand in farewell and Kaneki returned the gesture before vanishing into the light.

_‘If only we can meet like this again…’_

* * *

 

**The End**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The Cruciatus curse worked because Barty Crouch Jr was aiming at Kaneki’s eyes and ears, which are vulnerable in a ghoul.   
> -If you’re wondering how all four rinkaku can stab into three of “Moody’s” limbs, well for the leg with the prosthetic, the rinkaku is piercing the thigh where there is still flesh.  
> -Tokyo is like 9 hours ahead of Scotland, there’s a time difference.
> 
> I hope you have enjoyed Captive: Ghouls and Doves’ final chapter. :)

**Author's Note:**

> I uploaded these chapters pretty quickly, so I didn't really spend much time checking if the format is okay or not. Once I've got time, I'll go through and check everything properly.


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